Love Blossoms In Hate
by nudgebeast
Summary: The land of Startongo is plunged into horrifying civil war. As the Empire, lead by tyrant Tony of the Eastern pack take over the entire land, a rebellion is formed from the survivors. The land is thrown into misery and dispair, full of marching armies and bloody conflicts. Story is set in a medieval time frame, story is all original. Monthly updates!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N hey guys! so after my little poll, the two stories "As this last breath leaves me" and "Love Blossoms in Hate" were tied! so I broke it with an easy flip of a coin, and here we are. I was able to recover the files of the first two chapters, so I will use those heavily as a bases for this first chapter, but not completely. I Hope you all enjoy, im really excited to be back. Thank you all, and be sure to leave a review, and maybe a fav if your feeling generous.**

The gleaming steel swung towards Humphrey's head, causing him to duck to avoid decapitation. Setting his feet under him, he surged forward, and slammed his shoulder into the wolf in front of him. The wolf was lifted from his feet and flew for a second or two before landing upon the blood covered earth floor. Rolling his arm and shoulder to relive the pain from the impact, Humphrey started towards the wolf, seeing his eyes lazily cross over him, and then to his sword, and a distant fear entered his eyes. When Humphrey reached the wolf, he grabbed the hilt of his sword with two hands and thrust it into the wolf's chest. His mouth shot open in a silent scream, before he fell still. using his last reserves of strength he pulled the blade free of the flesh and metal of the wolf's breast plate. Leaning on it, he turned and looked around. Both armies were still clashing for dominance over the other. Humphrey wasn't with his army because he had followed a sergeant's order and with a group of a hundred men flanked to the right to hit the enemy from the side.

Still looking around, he saw that he was the only survivor from the clash his wolves had encountered. Trying to continue the sergeant's order would be futile, so he made his way back to his ranks. Assessing his wounds along the way, he had a large gash where his greaves had failed, and a bruise on his head after his helmet had deflected the hilt of a sword. Wincing in pain as he removed the helmet and stuck it between his arm and side; and dragging his sword behind him, he arrived at the back of his ranks, filing in with the fresh reinforcements from the war camp his army was supporting. Abandoning the fighting would be considered desertion, and he would be executed. He would still more than likely be receiving a punishment for going to the wrong division of troops either way, but it wouldn't be something extreme, and he needed a rest.

Walking with the new fresh soldiers, he felt their eyes on him, and he knew he stood out. He was obviously battle weary, his armor dented and his sword chipped in multiple places along the sides. Thankfully, no one asked. Looking to the front lines along the march to reinforce his men, he saw their battle commander, Winston, leading a cavalry charge into the main enemy force. The grey horse he was sat upon looked amusingly just like him, and they struck down any in their way. Humphrey also saw his wife Eve leading the wolves at the front lines. Humphrey had the pleasure of sparring with Eve once, and knew how ferocious and devastating she was in battle. He felt genuinely sorry for any soldier; his army or not, who had to face her.

In another thirty minutes, Winston's cavalry had destroyed and demoralized the enemy, and Eve was cleaning up the remains. Receiving orders to turn back to camp, the fresh wolves groaned. It seemed they had wanted to revel in the fighting. The walk back was less eventful, and the only new senses that filled any ears was the rare and small clash of fighting before the enemy group surrendered or was killed. When they arrived at the sea of tents that housed their marching army, Humphrey instantly went to find his field sergeant and inform him that he was still alive. Humphrey lied his way out of a punishment of desertion with saying he had rejoined the fighting at the head of the charge, and then was dismissed to his tent. Taking off his dented and crushed armor and unstrapping a shield, he set them down on his cot and dressed in a tunic and poorly made pants. with a dagger strapped to his waist and a small patch of leather around his tunic, he was somewhat prepared if the enemy had some how managed to mount a counter-offensive. Reaching the wide open space for the cooks and chefs of the army, he waited in line for his food. He received a hot heap of steak, with vegetables accompanied by an assortment of spices.

Scanning over the tables with his eyes, he saw what he was looking for, and headed over to a table with only a few soldiers. Seating himself away from the soldiers and next to the person he was looking for, he saw Kate, Winston and Eve's daughter, going over a few books with a plate of food all but barren besides a few scraps. She looked up and smiled at Humphrey, her amber eyes shinning brightly from the cook fires that reflected off them. She sat down the book and hugged him tightly, aggravating a few scars and bruises on his back that he had over looked. He hugged back, happy he had been able to find her so late into the meal time.

"You had me so worried Humphrey! Why are you so late?"

Scratching the back of his head, he told her how he had to report to the sergeant to inform him he was in fact not dead from the battle. She listened respectfully as he told his tale. Afterwards, she showed him something she had learned from her books today.

Kate was a magician. She was able to manipulate energy around her to do her bidding. Being one of the only magic wielders in their army, she was incredibly important. She would usually stay back in the army and use magic to kill wolves that belonged to the enemy if they themselves didn't posses a magic barrier inserted by another magician. Though she usually had a hefty kill count in a battle, she was still highly unqualified to be a battle magician. She didn't have the skill to battle another magician, only enough to kill unprotected soldiers. Still, she went to the battles, and when not in battle, she studied books to teach her discipline and spells.

"Watch this Humphrey" she said with a devious smile.

She muttered a word or two under her breath, and Humphrey saw a soldier lifting a fork to his mouth and his hand took a weird jerk and stabbed himself in his chest. It hardly punctured, but the soldier did give a aggravated curse. This caused the wolves around him to laugh, and even Humphrey and Kate chuckled.

"You will be able to make soldiers kill themselves now, huh?" asked Humphrey, taking a bite of his steak.

"Yep, I think it will defiantly help" she said with a happy smile, obviously pleased she had learned a new spell. She then stuck the books in between her arm and side, and stood. Humphrey did as well, not caring that he hadn't finished his meal. She giggled at him and he walked with her to her tent, which was shared with by her parents. Both Kate's parents knew Humphrey, which was one of the reasons he had the honor of sparring with Eve. Though he was clearly bested when it came to Eve's ability with a blade, it was still a fun and invigorating challenge to fight her.

Kate invited Humphrey into the tent, but he politely refused, saying that he was very tired from the day's events, and in pain as well, and that he wished to sleep. Kate gave him another hug then retreated behind the flap of her tent. Humphrey turned and walked back to his tent, passing many soldiers and blacksmiths and weapon arms dealers for the army along the way. Once he got to his tent he cleared off the gear from his cot, and laid down upon the cot. He found it difficult to fall asleep after a battle, and this night was no different. Every detail, scream and wail of pain echoed in his head. Humphrey stayed awake and watched the celling of the tent, like he excepted it to move. Finally, his eyes became to heavy to hold up, and he drifted into his dreams.

To Humphrey's disappointment, his sleep was short lived, and he was awoken by a loud horn being blown. It took a second for Humphrey to realize that it was the warning note, played only when we were either being attacked, or were attacking. Humphrey didn't have time to get a new or repaired set of armor, so donned his current gear, even the chipped sword, and ran out of his tent. Instantly, his shield came into use. When he walked out, a enemy happened to be right there, and swung a heavy two-handed sword. A burning pain flared in his left arm as he blocked the blow full on, and he twirled and chopped downward, catching the wolf in the gap between his shoulder plate and neck chain mail. Humphrey pulled the sword free and watched the soldier fall. His arm flared up again when he moved it, and upon closer inspection, realized it was broken.

He cursed under his breath and started to make his way through the rows of tents, soon emerging into the cook area. It was under full scale attack, and the attackers were winning. He rushed into battle, abandoning the shield as it was to much for his broken arm. He charged towards two enemies, one with a pike and one with a broadsword. Both had the advantage of reach on him. He had to be cautious if he was going to disarm and kill these two. Cursing himself for getting in this situation, he started to back up as the two advanced on him. He bumped into a table, and saw a fresh, hot bowl of soup, probably for one of the chefs themselves. He struck the tip with the hilt of his sword and sent the contents splattering the two wolves.

He took his advantage and stabbed his sword through the bottom of the jaw of the broadsworder. Humphrey's sword erupted out the top of the wolfs skull. He then pushed the handle up so it was horizontal, and broke the wolfs neck. He then pulled his sword out and ducked as the pikeman thrusted his weapon at him. It missed Humphrey by inches and impaled his dead friend in the stomach. Humphrey whipped his sword up and watched the blade pass through the wooden stick of the pike. The wolf who was left defenseless was easily cut down by a soldier who came to help him. Humphrey assisted the rest of the wolves in defending the cook area, before he departed and ran to the tent Kate, Eve and Winston shared.

He shoved his way in, and saw only Lilly. Lilly was Kate's younger sister, only twelve years of age. The purple eyes that gleamed up at him almost gave him a smile, but he was to serious and in to much pain to show one.

"Are you ok?" she asked with concern, looking at his left arm. Humphrey waved off the question and responded with one of his own.

"Where are your parents and sister?" Lilly thought for a moment, then told him that her parents were helping the other soldiers, and he didn't know where Kate was. That scared him, so he ran out and stopped a passing soldier.

"The commanders daughter is in their, protect her." He said sternly, and with authority. He must have sounded very convincing, because the wolf didn't even ask his rank, just simply nodded. Humphrey left him with Lilly and started to search the camp for Kate, killing any of the opposing army he encountered. He received a new collection of cuts and bruises while doing so. On the northwestern side of the camp, completely opposite of Kate's or his tent, he heard a female scream. He knew who it was in a heartbeat, and canceled out any other sounds. Following Kate's wails, he saw two soldiers, one gripping the longer fur on her head with his hand and pulling her away. The other soldier saw Humphrey and ran to dispatch of him. The opposite happened, and Humphrey, after disposing of the soldier, tackled the one who held Kate. They wrestled around for a bit, and Humphrey ended up on the bottom. The wolf grabbed his dagger from his belt and stabbed it through Humphrey's broken arm, pinning it to the floor.

Humphrey screamed in pain, and felt hands around his throat constricting the life out of him. Suddenly, the hands loosened, and then released. Humphrey looked up at Kate, and realized she must of killed him with magic, now that she wasn't screaming. She helped him up, after pulling out the knife from his arm, which caused Humphrey to curse violently. Kate spit on the body of the man.

"The empire soldiers need to know when to quit" she said distastefully. Humphrey nodded, not trusting himself to speak with the pain he had in his arm.

"Here, let me get that" she said as she placed her hands upon his arm and healed him. Humphrey had once asked why she didn't just heal the whole army. She had responded with a laugh and said that though you can use the energy around you to manipulate most things, healing required a certain concertation and focus, and the energy had to come from the caster. If she healed to serious a wound, or tried to bring back someone from the dead, the energy it would take from her body would be enough to kill herself.

Humphrey smiled and clenched and unclenched his hand, as well as a few other activities. Although the spell looked to drain Kate, she refused to go back to the tent with Lilly and stayed with Humphrey as they helped the rest of the army round up the last of the empire's soldiers, and executed them. The attack had been surprising and shocking, and rendered them almost immobile for the first few seconds. But after that, their army crushed the empire, and only thirty-six casualties were reported. Of those thirty-six, the soldier Humphrey had appointed to guard Lilly was on the list. He had died from his wounds seconds after a sword impaled him. Lilly had taken the fallen wolfs sword and surprisingly bested the empieral soldier. Winston had suffered from a large and deep cut on his chest, and was being mended by the healers. Eve was covered in blood, but not hers, and just watched the executions take place.

Since Winston was absent because of his battle wounds, Eve took charge for the time, and appointed extra watches on the gates, Humphrey included in the extra watchman's. He hid a groan, being way to tired to stand on guard for his three hour appointment. Luckily though, he was able to get a new set of armor, so he was as comfortable as you could be in battle apparel. Then Eve took Kate by the hand and quickly dragged her to their shared tent. Humphrey assumed she was in trouble for something. Dead wolfs in empire clothing and armor were periodically carried out in front off the camp and burned. The soldiers who were doing these acts usually cheered, as well as some of the men on guard duty. It was a revolting thing to cheer at, but anything to be happy about these days was something to be cherished.

By time the moon was three quarters of the way down the sky, Humphrey was relived and given the permission to return to his tent. He did so immediately, not even taking off his armor as he lay down on the cot and fell asleep, his dreams non existent as though a black blanket was covering the pictures. He would have spent days in this dream trance, but was awaken by Kate near mid-day. She said that her mother wished to speak with him privately, which both confused and scared him. Kate told him to relax. It didn't help.

He pushed open the flap of the tent, while Kate sat outside. The tents inhabitants were both of Kate's parents, and two captain prestige soldiers from their ranks. Humphrey sat across from them both, and one he was seated, Winston, though covered in a multitude of bandages, spoke up.

"Humphrey, I don't need to explain to you that our forces are spread thin. It was a bad idea for King to separate us in four main offensive groups. That being said, it has done some good, but if a force is hit to hard, they have no reinforcements. Main group 2 has stopped sending reports to the rest of us, and we are concerned not only about their safety, but for the fact that their mission was the most important. We have decided to send a group to their last reported location and recover what remains if possible, and if not, ultimately finish their mission.

"So, we are sending Kate, and Hutch and Cando, the wolves behind me. Kate insisted that you accompany her and them. She says you are a formidable swordsman, which I know is true, but I don't want to be giving away my best men. We have decided that the ultimate decision be made by you."

He quickly answered, saying he would do as Kate wished. He did not know if this pleased the four wolves in the tent, but he could not live with himself if he found out Kate had died on her adventure, and he could have made a difference. The wolves in the tent soon nodded, and told him to pack essentials, while food and water would be supplied. His essentials were clothes he could wear when free from armor and others. As he walked out of the tent, he saw Kate with a wide smile, and she walked with him to her tents, saying how much safer she felt now that someone she actually knew was accompanying her on her trip.

the next day

"Calm down" said Humphrey as he set his hand gently on his horses snout. He blow a gust of wind from his nostrils, but other than that, was calm there after. Having succeeded in calming the horse, he saddled it, packing equipment and essentials. To the left of him, Hutch and Cando were doing the same, both of their horses seeming more big and muscular than his scrawny horse. The name of Humphrey's horse was Blindside, because that was the only way one could get the jump or element of surprise on an enemy with the horse. Humphrey thought it was demeaning of the horse, but once he laid eyes on it, he bitterly realized that the owner was speaking the truth. He was standing outside the gate of the camp, with Hutch and Cando, as they waited for the female they were assigned to escort to the last known location of the main force number two.

The horses soon broke away from their three riders, pawing at the cracked and dry desert floor and looking for any signs of grass in the immediate area. When ever a patch was found, Blindside was left out as the other horses went at it all for themselves. He felt immense pity for Blindside, and the horse's predicament brought him back to his child hood. When the gates shifted open again, Kate rode out on a brown horse, the same color as Blindside. But this horse was much more bigger than any animals present, and it looked like it could take on the entire empire by itself. The she-wolf upon the horse is what really drew Humphrey's attention though. She was draped in entirely gold armor, with a sword, the sheath matching the color of the armor. He saw out of the corner of his eye Cando staring her down intently, like he had a major attraction for her.

Humphrey hated that. Though he didn't like to admit it, he had a fancy for Kate, and found her as not only the most gorgeous wolf in the world, but the nicest and most open she-wolf to match. The three males reined in their horses and mounted up. Taking a quick look of the physical geography of Startongo, and marking their destination, they started off away from the camp. A few minutes in to the start of their journey, Humphrey steered Blindside to Kate, and smiled at her, Kate returning it.

"A little...much, wouldn't you say?" Humphrey asked, pointing to the armor Kate wore. She shrugged, the plates on her shoulders rattling as they moved.

"I think it is perfectly appropriate. And it looks nice, wouldn't you agree?"

He smiled at her response. "The main effect of armor is to stop a sword or pike or arrow from ending your life, not to make your enemies stare at you in awe, then just cut you down."

"I would rather them stare at me in awe, before I cut them down."

"Wouldn't you just use magic anyway?"

She nodded her head. "I would like to use a blade if it came to it. I don't want an imperial magician to know there is an enemy magic wielder in the area, then he or she would target me."

Humphrey nodded, understanding. He knew Kate was a gifted magic user, but to fight against someone who has had years of training studying every field of magic, was as good a death wish as any. But he had never seen Kate use any physical weapon before, and was unsure that she could hold her own in a fight.

"You know how to use that sword on your hip?"

She looked down at the sword and pulled it from it's sheath, a hissing sound ringing in his ear as she did. She judged the feel in her hand, and swung it experimentally in front of her. Her strength was their, but the form was not, and the sword seemed to fit uncomfortably in her hand, even if she liked it. The sword was to heavy for her, he realized. He would have to spar with her the nights they could before they reached the second division of the army, so Kate would grow stronger and more disciplined with a deadly slab of steel. He told her what he had been thinking about, and she agreed to the idea, openly admitting the flaws in her technique, but not nearly as much as Humphrey had seen.

An hour into the trip, they came upon a small village, to small to be noticed on the map. The horses whined and pulled back, seeming hell bent on avoiding the village. Though the males had agreed to go around, Kate wanted to go in. Even with all their reasoning, Kate had told them that her father had put her in charge of this operation, and she chose to take a detour. Carefully, the males tethered the horses to a nearby shrub, and then one at a time entered the ghost town, Kate in the middle as they moved in a V formation, the sides of the V being in front. The town seemed dead except for the chill that surrounded it, which was weird, considering they were in the hottest region of Startongo. With a few dreadfully long minutes of walking the group reached the town center, where they all stopped in disgust.

Right in front of the stone steps that lead to the hall, the towns inhabitants lay dead all over the floor. Blade wounds, arrow shots, and burns littered the bodies of the men, woman and children, and a few birds who preyed on already killed food scavenged through the first few bodies. Kate's cheeks bulged, and she ran over to a nearby house and was sick. Hutch went towards the bodies and studied one of the wolves who had died in what seemed like a defense. Taking a look at the town patch and insignia, he told the three that this was the town of Yahumma, a small supporter of the rebellion. Anger and hatred filled their hearts as they left the town and rode as fast as they could past it, Kate taking a mental note to report to her parents when the time came.

The revolting sight at the town center had rendered all four of them mute, nobody speaking until the moon set and they decided to spark up camp. They found a patch of desert with the Node river running through it, which ran through most of Startongo. Hutch and Cando got fire wood, while Humprhey and Kate stayed in the camp area to set up the sleeping rolls and get food prepared. Once that was done, Humphrey unsheathed his sword and drew a large circle to the side of the makeshift fire place. Kate watched with quiet interest, her amber eyes again reflecting the glow from the fire as Hutch and Cando now prepared their food.

When Humphrey was done, he told Kate to grab her sword and join him. A smile showed on her face as she did as told, and took a fighting stance on the side of the circle. Humphrey stopped Kate from attacking and watched her ready stance, telling her to do what was comfortable but instructing her on fatal mistakes she was committing. Once he was contempt with her stance, he removed her sword from

her hands, and handed her a heavy stick. He equipped one as well. Kate looked confused but didn't argue.

Humphrey got on his side of the circle, and after a few seconds, made a sudden move towards Kate. He didn't attack, but Kate still reacted and pulled her sword up to defend herself from nothing. she shook her head and got back into her stance as he went back to his side of the circle. He did the same move, but this time Kate didn't react and kept her gaze on his chest and arms, predicting when he would move them to strike. He used his feet and without her even noticing before it was to late, swept her feet from under her.

She cursed and got back to her feet, and they got ready again. They did this until their food was ready, and even afterwards to. Kate learned fast, and soon took in the whole picture, not just Humphrey himself, and was able to anticipate most of his moves as he was doing them. Though she knew what he was doing, she wasn't fast enough or confident enough to block or dodge most of his attacks, and Kate's own attacks were sloppy and left large openings for Humphrey. At the end of the little practice session, Kate had a collection of bruises, scrapes and cuts, while Humphrey didn't even break a sweat.

Kate

Kate walked to the stream and stripped of her armor, easing her way into the cold water of the stream. The males turned themselves in respect of Kate, all facing the other way to give her the privacy she needed. It was dark enough and far enough that even if they looked they wouldn't be able to pick any one part of her out, but it was still a nice gesture. Kate enjoyed the nice cool water after she got used to it, and she sat there for a while, sitting in the water. Her mind drifted to the engagement she just had with Humphrey. But it wasn't about the instructions or even how their engagement went.

Though he didn't sweat much, there were a few times where their bodies had locked while locking the wooden sticks, and she was poring. Some had made its way on to Humphreys chest, which he kept bare, and he didn't seem to mind the water on him. It really outlined his muscles and the definition on his chest. Humphrey really had a very arousing figure...

She stopped her train of thought right there. She cursed herself of being so easily captivated, and focused washing her body with the cool water before she lay on the bank for a half an hour to dry off. She watched the moon and stars in that time, distracting herself from any thoughts she had in the stream. Once she was dry enough, she returned to her horse, the males still giving her the privacy she wanted. After donning her clothes however, she seated herself next to the fire next to Hutch, and warmed herself. She saw Humphrey leave once she sat, and he walked over to the stream and proceeded to wash himself, Cando and Hutch joining him, though they were at different parts of the stream. When all were finished, Hutch was the first to say goodnight to her and the group before he retired. Cando and Humphrey soon joined him, Kate assuring them that she would take first watch, for the imperial group that had gone through Yahumma might still be lurking around. Even so, she was skeptical that they would be moving this late in the night, so she let her mind again wonder, but to a more... appropriate pleasure.

Kate expanded the reaches of her mind in every direction, using magic to sense the creatures and plants around her. It always gave her a different kind a feeling all together when she felt and heard and saw what the creatures of the world did. Though she could not see through their eyes, or smell through their noses, she could relive their memories, and that was as close as she could get. She loved to search the memories of birds, always jealous of their ability to fly high over the clouds and see the ground rushing past you, or feel the air nip at your feathers. She was lucky to destroy her trance like connection with everything around her as soon as she did, for Cando woke up, and went to take her place. Kate snuggled up in her sleeping roll, closed her eyes, and fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N so my computer broke down…again. That means that I am doing these chapters on my iPhone, which will obviously make me more prone to spelling mistakes. Of course I will do my best to avoid them and check for errors, but you all know how it is. You proof read it 3 times, it looks fine, you publish it, and there's all these errors. Well, bare with me guys, and I hope you enjoy the chapter. I am going to be aiming for 5,000 words a chapter. Hopefully more. Have a good weekend guys! (;**

Morning came to soon, and the group of wolves all felt fatigued and tired after such a long day of travel. It didn't provide any comfort that they weren't even half way there, either. Hutch cooked up a quick breakfast, and the four ate in silence. They also gave the horses a few minutes to drink and gorge upon the edible grass alongside the banks of the Node river. After everything was packed up and the horses saddled and prepped for another long trek through the Startongo desert, the four grouped around a map of the land.

"If we curve a little to the left, we can get out of the desert quicker. It would take longer to reach the second division, but it would give the horses some needed vegetation. And it would be much cooler" said Humphrey, tracing the route on the map with his finger. Hutch and Cando agreed, but again Kate didn't see eye to eye with the three soldiers.

"Times of the essences. If we push the horses to maintain a set pace, we should be able to get out of the desert by tomorrow morning." Cando instantly intervened, pointing out the flaws in Kate's idea. If Kate's plan was put into motion, they would leave behind the Node river. With the blaring heat and the little amount on vegetation, it could mean death for the horses, and in-turn, them. Once this was made clear to Kate, she agreed with the original route, apologizing for her "stupidity" which was dismissed by the males, seeing it as an honest mistake any of them could have made.

With their plan setting in motion, the four steered their horses to the left, following the Node. The river would provide a steady supply of water until the desert ended, in which the group would then follow the edge of the forest around the desert and come from behind of the last known location of division two.

All members of the group had chosen not to done armor. With the heat, it would be almost unbearable. Humphrey had on a brown leather tunic and some travel worn pants, Hutch and Cando copying him. Kate had the same color and type of tunic, but more appropriate, almost royal looking pants. Humphrey couldn't help but stare. She looked stunning. The pants outlined her legs and rear very nicely, as the pair of pants were skin tight to help keep out the sand, with extremely small holes along its white coating to help cope with the temperature that accompanied the desert. Humphrey also couldn't help but notice he wasn't alone in marveling her apparel, and her gorgeous appearance.

Cando and Hutch were discreetly taking looks back, acting as if they were fixing their saddles or grabbing something from their travel bags. In reality they were also tracing Kate's curves through her elegant pants. Humphrey met their eyes every now and then, and they all seemed to be a little embarrassed at being caught. But Cando wasn't as easily extinguished, and soon slowed his horse to allow Kate to get even with him. Once they were even, Cando jumped into action and immediately noted her under-ware. ( her pants, obviously. I just don't want to over use the word, so yeah)

Kate smiled at him warmly, and it made Humphrey and Hutch heat up in jealousy. "These? My mother found them in one of the cities we had concurred before we entered the desert. She gave these to me, and the matching tunic, which didn't fit me, was given to Lilly."

"They'er very nice. They must have belonged to some one very rich to afford it. More then likely royalty or someone of importance. Looks like they found their way to another who matches the description." Humphrey and Hutch cringed at the cheesy attempt of flirt, and hoped Kate would do the same for their own sakes. But to their dismay Kate blushed heavily and gave a wide smile.

"Thank you so much! I didn't realize we had such nice gentleman in our ranks" responded Kate, which made Cando smile as well. Though it placed a frown on the other two males. Humphrey worked up the courage and used blindside to get even with Kate on the opposite side, determined to steal Cando's Thunder. Of course, he couldn't copy his compliment on her luxurious apparel, so he decided to recount some of his and her moments together. And he was lucky, because he had something that related to where she had gotten her apparel.

"Hey Kate, do you remember the name of that city?" He asked with a smile. Her head turned the opposite direction to face him as she answered with a puzzled expression. "I can't say I do, though I remember it had those two big light houses on either side of the main castle, right?"

Humphrey nodded happily. "Yes that's right. The name of the city was igne natantes, remember now?" Again Humphrey was pleased with the result, as her face lit up in recognition.

"Yeah I do now! We lit off the floating lanterns in the light house towers to signal our victory! God if I could re-live that night, it was so beautiful. You were the one who lit them with me to. That really was an amazing night Humphrey." She said, giving him a warm smile that he melted into. Humphrey returned the smile, but on the inside he gave a victorious fist pump. Cando might have been able to give her a winning compliment, but he didn't have the history with her that he did. He established to Cando that he would be winning this small battle that was being fought between the three males. Cando discreetly moved his horse away, giving Humphrey this victory has he joined Hutch.

Humphrey's steed Blindside stayed in stride with Kate's much larger horse as their conversation continued on without the other soldier. "It was also one of the first time you were able to openly test your magic skills" pointed out Humphrey, now focusing on just the conversation and not trying to undermine Cando.

"Yeah that to. I'm glad we were able to see past their disguises and realize that there weren't any enemy magicians nearby. I always liked testing out the new spells I learn at full effect with the empire" she said with a devious smile.

"The spells that results in their deaths?" Humphrey asked with a knowing smile. Kate just gave him a nod and returned her eyes to the vast ocean of sand. He followed her gaze. It always shocked him how so much sand could be in one place. There had to be millions upon millions of individual grains of the stuff. And it all stayed together. Finding any source of sand outside the desert was obviously rare. In reality, it was like a vast, unimaginably large kingdom. It remained him of how the Startongo used to be back in the day.

Everyone had lived together in perfect harmony in peace. Four kingdoms made up the whole of Startongo, named only by the section that each kingdom owned. The East controlled the vast forest of Mare Ligno (sea of wood), which had the appearance of a crescent moon, trying to go around the whole of Startongo. The North had control of the largest body of water in the country, which was called Aquæ vitæ (Life Water). It had a large abundance of fresh water fish, as well as supplying the people with drinking water. The South was centered around the Cloud High mountain range, which produced many of the metals used for architecture, weapons and armor, and much more. Because of the immense size of the mountains, water and food was hard to find, so they traded their metals often for food and water. The West had access to the most fertile land in Startongo, and did much of their trading and economic growth with the South.

This peace lasted a couple hundred years, but soon a power hungry leader took the reins of the East. The wolf went only by the generic name of Tony. He discreetly massed an army of soldiers that reached thousands strong. Then they secretly Invaded and conquered the entire Northen Kingdom, using weapons of war as their main method of attack. Very few survivors made it out alive, and quickly went to warn the West, and in-turn the South. When they learned of this both kingdoms readied defenses, and the south sent soldiers to help protect the West, as it was the most obvious target because of how much closer it was to the North where most of Tony's army now was. In the coming days the army reached the edge of Western territory. Many battles were fought there, and many men and woman killed. Within a few months, the West was over taken, and the few survivors, along with any from the north, then retreated to the South.

The Cloud High mountain range provided cover and hard terrain, which forced , Tony's army to abandon their highly effective and mechanical weapons of war. It seemed as though the South would be able to hold their lines, as the South had an immense military due to the amount of weapons and armor they produced. But eventually the South ran out of food, after losing their main supply's from the West, and the rare trade from the North. The south was forced to surrender, though they sent many civilians who could do the normal work, as well as a small army out a small passage that lead to the east. While Tony occupied himself with finishing his work in the south, it all started to come undone as the small but combined might of the renaming Kingdoms armies took over the land in the East, and quickly expanded all over the territory.

And now in present times, the "Rebellion" are attacking the now defending East, which occupied all territory's besides the original East. With the element of surprise under their feet, and for other reasons, including the fear of being overwhelmed, the combined armies instantly started to attack. It was the only chance they had to gain enough territory to amass an army to combat the East head on. So as the reaming soldiers under the military guidance of King, the leader of the South, put the East under pressure, soldiers were being trained and weapons were being built in the old Eastern Territory. And surprisingly they had made it to the Startongo desert, which lies in the middle of the land. They were giving the East a run for their money. With the motivation and increase of moral blanketing the Rebellion, King decided to split the already small army into 4 divisions to conquer more territory. The only Error made by King was now becoming Fatal, so the division's had halted. In this absence of advance, the second division had stopped communication. And now here they were.

Humphrey found it incredibly amusing that the entire story of Startongo could be started and described as one peaceful sea of sand. With just a very large sand storm taking the place of the East. Within the time it took for Humphrey to recount the history of his home land, their group had reached a desirable resting place along the bank of the Node. Giving the horses the rest they desperately needed, the party of four got ready to eat a quick lunch and fill up their canteens.

As Hutch filled their canteens, Kate's nose wrinkled as she sniffed the air.

"That's smoke, a lot of it" she said. The rest of the group smelled the air as well, and it was pretty obvious what it was.

"It's drifting over from the the edge of the desert, right where division two was last heard of…" Trailed off Humphrey, implying that the worst outcome imaginable had happened to the division. Kate shook her head vigorously, denying what Humphrey was trying to get at.

"An entire division can't be taken out that quickly! Sure were split thin, but it would still take the Empire a lot of man power and time to get rid of them."

"Not if they used their war machines" Cando pointed out. "They could have lobbed large boulders covered in pitch and fire, and after the bombardment, send in a group of soldiers to clean up the stragglers."

Kate retorted instantly. "Tony's huge advantage over us before was his war machines. They would have all been with the main army charging the Southern capital. It would take them a while to get all the way back here after most were destroyed in the last stand of the South. And with how much desert is around, and considering our location and the location of the Empires city's in this area, they would have had to cross the desert to even get building materials."

"Well what do you think happened then huh?"

"Maybe their battle is still going on, and their defending their ground as we speak. We should fill up as much water and food as possible, then do as I said earlier and head straight across the desert. They may need the help right away."

As Hutch was crouched over the bank of the Node refilling their water reserves, he spoke up.

"What are three soldiers and a magician going to do? We'll just die along with them. We should continue on our route, and finish their mission ourselves."

"It will be e-"

Kate was interrupted as a drum role of horse hooves were heard in the distance of the hard desert. Turning towards the noise, the group of four saw at least a dozen or so wolves in battle gear heading straight towards them. They all drew their weapons, Kate making sure to close any connection to magic she had open just in case, she had to stay hidden. Their horses whined at the oncoming barrage of soldiers.

Humphrey ran to blindside, running his hand along his snout to calm him as he grabbed his pack off the animals back. He drew his bow case, and quiver. He had taken the bow just for this reason, hoping he wouldn't have to use though. Testing the string, he slipped an arrow into the notch and returned to his group. Pulling the arrow back and taking a deep breath, he released the arrow and string. A " _twang_ " noise was heard as the arrow whistled through the sky, and bury it's self in a horse men in the back of the charge. The wolf fell off and the horse stopped, starring down the rest of his race as they charged.

Humphrey didn't have time to fire another arrow and drew his sword, getting in a defensive position. The calvary had a serious advantage on the small band of reinforcements, and death was a likely out come. But Humphrey would do whatever it took to protect Kate.

 **As I said earlier, each chapter will be at least 5000, this being an exception for 3 reasons. A: school. It's not that big of a deal, but homework does take a few hours off my writing time. B: family. I have had a few cousins and aunts/ uncles over most of this week and weekend, so I apologize. And C: My computer will not work! I think I said this up above, but it's being a pain in the ass, and it's even more of a pain in the ass to update using an iPhone. Either way, hope you enjoyed, and be sure to fav/ review, and follow to see when a new chapter comes out (;**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N well….I don't really have much to say. I'm sorry for the long delay, I don't really know what happened to be honest. I know it's been a while and I do apologize. I don't have an excuse or any reason as to why I stopped updating. Updates will be few and far in between from here on out…I might go 4-5 months without updating. But I'll try and come back. But yeah, updates will be rare. I'll try my best, and thanks for the continued support even with my absences.**

The thundering of horses continued to get louder as they were almost upon the small group. Humphrey, along with Cando, Kate, and Hutch, all rose their swords to deflect the oncoming blades. Just as the beasts went to pass by them, their riders pulled them sideways, avoiding confrontation. The four wolves took this as an opportunity to get closer together, going into a back to back formation. The horses circled them a few times, the dust caused by their hooves making it extremely difficult for Humphrey and his team to see their riders. After what seemed like an eternity, the thunder like noise came to a close, and the dust started to settle. The clang of metal boots was heard as the horsemen dismounted their steeds.

With the dust cleared, Humphrey saw the dark brown colors of the rebellion on the dozen or so horsemen that had just arrived. It took a few seconds for the rest of the small group to notice, but once they did, they all turned to Humphrey and the bow at his feet. Humphrey realized his mistake. In the confusion and chaos when the horses were first charging towards them, Humphrey had assumed they were empire forces and had fired an arrow from his bow. Now seeing they were his own army, that meant he had fired down on one of his own. Friendly fire wasn't something to be taken lightly in any army, and the rebellion fighting for the freedom of Startongo was no exception.

Kate stepped up to the leader of the horsemen, as proved such by the rank he wore on his sleeve, and apologized.

"You must forgive my soldier's actions" she started. "He was not aware of your allegiance, and fired an arrow in the assumption you and your men were with the empire."

The wolf looked at Kate, then to Humphrey. Humphrey noticed the streaks of white in his grey fur, and the small signs of wrinkles on his cheeks. His eyes were full of war and despair. This old wolf reminded him of a darker, more emotionally aged Winston. He also saw the rank on his sleeve. Something seemed off about it. There was one to many angled stripes for him to just be in command of a calvary detachment. And why was Kate so eager to apologize, if not just for his sake?

"If it were anyone else speaking for your soldier, Ms. Kate, I would have him executed. But since your such and importance to our survival and a high ranking official…I will spare him of his wrong doing."

Kate felt very relived and thanked him, using the term "General" in her thanks. _General!_ Humphrey thought. That's why his rank seemed unusual. That also explained Kate's haste in apologizing. With such a large and important piece of their military, this man could have easily executed Humphrey, and he would have no consequences in doing so. Kate, Humphrey, and their two comrades sheathed their weapons, as did the horsemen. Soon, General Kane, the wolf in charge of the entire second division, started to explain what had happened with his division.

"My men and I had just finished a raid on the nearby city of Kolokaton (I'll start putting these in to help you guys pronounce these names. Kolo-kate-ton) and were returning to the main army, when a large imperial force came from the direction you have just arrived from, more then likely coming from the town Yahumma." (ya-uma)

Humphrey and his small squad had a silent realization of what truly happened to the people of Yahumma. They were slaughtered by a number 4 times their size, just because they support the rebellion. It truly was a sick time the land of Startongo (start-on-go) found itself in.

"They met us head on, and at first we succeeded in holding them back. But then reinforcements started to trickle in from the large stone walls of Kolokaton. The numbers proved to much for us and we eventually got encircled. We fought for 3 whole days, until they decided to pull back. They kept their encirclement up though, stopping any supplies from getting to us. They were effectively starving us. With my men desperate, we decided to make one last push. We throw all we had at the enemy, and a small portion of us got through. This was just recently, which means imperial forces might very well still be on our tail. I say we continue down along the Node until we reach the forest, where hopefully they will lose our scent."

Kate nodded and turned to her three escorts. "You heard him, the empire is closing in fast. We will saddle up and head with them." Humphrey, Cando, and Hutch nodded and ran towards their horses, Humphrey making sure to grab his bow along the way. Jumping on Blindside, he took off, following the soldiers, and Kate, down the Node. In the far distance, another cloud of dust could be seen. The empire was in pursuit.

 **Well, there it is. I know it's not long, and I know it's a god awful way to come back, but I felt terrible and just wanted to get something out to let you all know I'm still alive. Hopefully I can update in the near future. Thank you all for the support, and I'll see ya next time**.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N well here's another chapter for you all. Thanks a ton for all the support on the last chapter, and I hope this one lives up to expectation.**

The sun started to set along the desert as two groups of horses raced aside the Node river. Further back, multiple horses and soldiers lay dead, their blood seeping into the sand. General Kade, joined with Cando and Humphrey, were battling upon their beasts, swinging their swords at the empires soldiers, who either dogged and parried, or were cut down. Sometimes, cheap shots were thrown, soldiers cutting and slashing at the opposing horses legs. Further ahead, fighting against another group of imperials, was Kate and Hutch, joined with the remaining soldiers from division two.

The thundering roar of so many horses in a full on sprint made Humphrey want to cover his ears. The clang of steel on steel and the screech of a sword scrapping across the breastplate of a soldier only added to the audio discomfort. Not only were his ears ringing, his arm was on fire. Fighting on horseback wasn't the easiest thing in the world to do. One couldn't use his feet and legs to balance, or to drive forward for an attack. All strength whilst fighting on horseback came from the arm wielding the blade. And after a while, this got very tiring. Humphrey gritted his teeth when his arm erupted in a fiery pain after blocking a downwards swipe from an opposing soldier.

The wolf Humphrey was fighting looked to be very young, maybe even his age. His green eyes were alive with adrenaline, and a small smile shaped his lips. Humphrey knew that cocky smile all to well. He regretfully realized that this was this wolf's first actual taste of action…and he would be the one to make it his last. Again, the young imperial swung his gleaming blade. Instead of deflecting, Humphrey leaned to the right of his saddle, the sword barley missing his hip. Once the sword was clear, he leaned back to the left, and ignored the burning sensation in his non-dominate arm as he swung his left arm towards the young wolf.

With the sword carrying the imperials arm back because of his momentum, he wasn't able to block or move out of the way of Humphrey's attack. Thankfully for him though, the movement of the horse brought his plated helm up to meet the sword instead of his exposed neck. Still, the blow dazzled the wolf, sparks flying into his field of vision making it look like he was seeing stars. A second or two later and the imperial lost conciseness, and slowly fell off the saddle. Humphrey could faintly pick out the sounds of cracking bones as his body rolled along the rough bank of the Node. With Humphrey's immediate opponent dealt with, he made Blindside ride up upon the two soldiers taking hacks at General Kade. Along the way, he slit the legs of one of the enemy horses, reliving some of the pressure Kade had to deal with as the horses body fell upon his imperial rider.

Now the numbers were even for Humphrey, Kade, and Cando, with three opposing soldiers still pursuing them. The six wolves forced their beasts ahead, both horse and rider panting from the still dreadful heat of the receding sun and the intense battle they were in. As the six wolves started to exchange blows, a cry was heard from up ahead. Humphrey looked forward to see a tumbling horse heading straight for the wolf next to him. He called to Cando, who was dealing with his own opponent at the time. "Cando, Sandwich him!" He shouted.

Cando veered his beast to the left while Humphrey to the right. They trapped the enemy wolf right in line with the rolling horse. When the collision happened the wolf and horse were instantly taken under, and seemed to vanish from sight. Cando gave Humphrey a victorious smile, then went back to his fight. He quickly got the advantage on his opponent and dispatched him with a stab to his armpit, and area where the armor wasn't all that strong. At the same time, General Kade had finished off his problem, and with there being no more enemy's around them, they rode forward to assist the rest of their group. Only two remained when they came to the aid of Kate and Hutch, so the imperialists steered away and headed back the way they came. They continued to keep the horses at a strenuous pace until they were sure they had escaped any immediate danger. The six renaming wolves then slowed their horses and allowed them to graze, while they themselves decided to make camp.

Kate, Humphrey, Hutch, Cando and General Kade all sat around a small fire, along with the only other soldier that survived; a low ranking female by the name of Claws. They had just finished a small meal of dried meat and bread and we're now enjoying the cool breeze that settled along the dark desert. Even though Humphrey was sore in all the wrong places, and he was sure Kate was as well, he figured the crisp air would be perfect conditions to continue sparring with Kate. Humphrey got up slowly as to not aggravate his tired muscles and drew a large circle in the sand with his sword. He then walked to the groups tethered steeds and pulled the very same branches they had used the night before from his pack. He heard a small groan come from the fire.

"Now Humphrey?" Came Kate's tired voice. Humphrey smiled inwardly and responded. "Only if you want to get better."

Kate was silent for a few seconds. Then she stood and walked to one end of the circle, taking her branch. Humphrey instructed her again to get into her stance, and to his surprise, she seemed much more professional then she did the night before. "I can learn pretty fast" she said with a sly smile. Her limbs were lose but also stayed strong to support herself, her face held high and her knees bent. She looked like she belonged with the rest of swordsman in Winston's division. Humphrey hid his shock and stood opposite of her, readying his pretend blade as well. The others watched from the fire, intrigued and interested in Kate's abilities. Humphrey started to move slowly along the outline of the circle, Kate mimicking this opposite on her side of the circle. Eventually, Humphrey lunged in for his attack. Their blades of bark battered against each other as Kate parried the attack and counted with one of her own, only for their branches to lock again. Kate continued her attack, sending an onslaught of blows towards Humphrey, trying desperately to land a blow. When Humphrey was backed to the edge of the circle, he gracefully span past her and swept her feet out from under her with his branch, and applied a small amount of pressure to the back of her neck afterwards.

"Dead" he said with a small smile. Kate growled and got back to her feet, returning to her fighting stance. Their practice session continued to go on for a good hour, Kate improving but still constantly being bested, and still yet to 'kill' Humphrey like he always did to her in the end. Every once and a while someone from the fire would give her a small tip or pointer, and though they helped, they still weren't enough for her to best her friend. Eventually, she got so sick and tired of the constant losing. As she stood up from a defeat for the 8th time that night, she said with determination, "last round." Humphrey nodded and sprung forward, giving Kate hardly anytime to react. The fire's warm orange glow bathed their bodies in light as they clashed, branch to branch. They exchanged a small amount of blows before Kate backed off, giving herself some breathing room. She watched Humphrey's feet as he bounced upon them, ready to start an attack again. When his feet made him fly towards her, she side stepped, backing again away from Humphrey. Before Humphrey could move another muscle, Kate muttered a few words under her breath. Humphrey's branch shot towards his neck, and stopped just an inch short. "Dead" said Kate with a devious smile.

The small band of spectators erupted in laughter as Kate used her magical abilities to force Humphrey into 'killing' himself. Humphrey turned and smiled at her, taking her branch and re-packing them. "You sly little devil" he said playfully as he softly shoved her. Kate laughed and retorted, "maybe you should let me win for once."

Humphrey smiled. "But then you wouldn't learn as well" he said. "Horse shit" Kate responded, making Humphrey now laugh. "No, I'm speaking the truth Ms. Ka-. Humphrey was stopped mid-sentence and looked down to where his foot had landed in a lump of…well, horse shit. Again, the band of spectators exploded in a roar of laughter as Humphrey hopped with one foot to the stream to wash the fecal matter off of him. Once he was done, he washed himself of sweat from his previous engagement with Kate, and returned to the fire. Kate then went to wash herself.

She stripped of her clothes, noting that again the group had turned, giving her privacy. She slowly sat herself down, the cold water sending shivers down her back. She laid her head back and floated in the calm stream, taking a deep relaxing sigh as she was able to finally calm down. _Today has been an awfully rough and eventful one_ she thought to herself. With the start of the day leading to Humphrey's accident with his bow, to the long chase they were tied up in with the empire, to the training she had just received, Kate was extremely tired. Her body and mind were pushed to the extremes today, and she was awfully proud of herself, thinking she handled it all rather well.

Soon, like the night prior, Kate's mind started to wander. She thought about her mother, father, and sister. The hope that they, and the rest of the division was ok, was her main concern. She told herself that they were fine though, and that she would be back with them shortly. At least, that's what she hoped. After the thought of family left her mind, she thought about Humphrey again. The way he talked, the way he walked, the way he moved while in combat, it all made her shiver. Humphrey had something about him, a weird aura that Kate seemed to be susceptible to. _And those eyes!_ She thought to herself. She always found herself slipping away into those gorgeous blue orbs. More thoughts started to worm their way into Kate's conscious, and she quickly shook her head before thing got out of hand. She quickly washed, and returned to the group. She got under her sleeping rag, announced her retirement for the day, and went to sleep.

 **Well, there you have it, chapter number 4. Again I would like to apologize from my extreme absence. I hope this chapter was better then the one posted earlier today, as I know that one was just a plain awful excuse for a comeback. I would like to thank the great author Christian Knight. Last night, while I was scrolling through my profile, I saw another review had been posted to this story. Though it had been posted 5 months ago, the review encouraged me to start to write this again, so a huge thanks to him. I'm rambling now so I'll end this one here. I hope you all have a wonderful day. I do not know when the next update will be out, but I will try and avoid another huge long wait. Though I don't want to make any promises, I would like to think I could have another one out by the end of this month. Have a good everybody, and thanks for the support!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N well here's another one for you all. Not really much to say here so I'll let you get to reading, hope you all have a wonderful day!**

The sun rose way to quickly for Kate, and she moaned bitterly to herself as she turned in her sleeping bag, trying to avoid the orange rays of light. She also hid her head, literally trying to make it as dark as possible. Kate was in no mood to wake up and face the challenges that today held. Her muscles were sore and aching, her throat was dry, and she was mentally exhausted. No energy reserves were left to keep her going. Eventually, after a few more blissful moments of rest, an external source shook her to alertness. If anyone's voice other then Humphrey's was the one to greet her ears, she probably would have snapped. But Humphrey's voice was so soothing to her. She hated being so easily captivated and controlled…but she loved it all the same.

"Come on Kate, time to wake up. We've already wasted valuable day time anyways." Said Humphrey as he gently rocked her body back in forth. Thankfully she responded quickly, her head emerging from the covers it was residing in. Her golden amber eyes met with his and Humphrey found himself locked in place. By the gods, their so beautiful he thought to himself, all sense of his surroundings dulled as he focused on Kate. They stayed locked in a passionate stare, and before either knew it, they were both leaning in for a kiss. Humphreys heart started to race, and his hands got clammy. This was something he had only dreamed about, something he wished for, but was convinced the time would never come. And yet here he was, mere inches away from making his dream a reality. Even the setting was perfect, with the morning sun outlining everything so clearly, and a crisp breeze that somehow managed to survive in the ruthless desert as it zoomed past the grass, causing waves in its beautiful greens. Humphrey's eyes finally lost sight of Kate's seas of gold when they closed in preparation to savor the physical pleasure they were about to experience. Humphrey knew he got even closer to sealing the deal as he felt her warm breath upon his face. _This is it!_ Screamed Humphrey inside his mind.

Kate couldn't believe what was happening, her lips seeming to have a mind of their own as they brought her closer to her guilty pleasure, Humphrey. When his eyelids closed, hers followed suit, and she knew mere centimeters divided them. Her tail began to whip across the covers of her sleeping bag, her breathing rate climbed, and her mind tried to prepare her for the exhilarating moment about to transpire. Her worry dissipated, the small voice in her head telling her not to do it quickly lost the battle. She didn't care how this could change their relationship for better or worse, just the lust and desire for his lips to caress hers occupied her racing thoughts.

"Mhm" came a deep voice, making Kate and Humphrey jump away from each other in shock, before they looked towards the source of the voice. General Kade was kneeling at the edge of Kate's sleeping roll, a large smile planted on his face. Behind him, the rest of the group looked upon the scene laid out in front of them with amused expressions, all except for Cando. "What do we have here?" Kade asked, his smile growing wider as the two culprits cheeks burned to a cherry red.

"N-nothing. Nothing at all" Kate quickly stuttered, jumping out of her portable bed. Humphrey, who was sitting upon his pockets on dirt, quickly nodded his head in agreement with Kate. Humphrey moved past General Kade and the rest of their 'clique' and climbed on top of the saddle placed on Blindsides back. "We should really get going, we're wasting time" said Humphrey, steering his steed towards the forest and setting off before anyone else could react. Both Humphrey and Kate were mortified, which was the reason Humphrey jumped out ahead. He wanted to be left alone with his embarrassment, and not to be harassed by his fellow soldiers who thought their…experience, was a funny joke. Kate had the same strategy, lagging behind the other horses with her head down. Every now and then, she would look up to humphrey and the dirty, rusty armor he had on. _I can't believe we almost kissed_ thought Kate.

 _What if we did kiss? Would our relationship be the same? Maybe he would've loved it and an emotional attachment could grow between us. Or possibly he would be upset with the whole situation, and our existing relationship would vanish. I assume I could talk to Humphrey about it and get his input on the whole situation. But what if that made him angry, would he rather just forget the whole thing? Ugh! I'm so confused!_ Kate's mind and thoughts were in a civil war of their own, her logic in turmoil as she tried to decide the best course of action to take with the situation at hand. She wondered if Humphrey was having the same mental dilemma as her. A side of her hoped he was so she wouldn't be the only one in the boat. The other side of her wished he had already came to a conclusion about the previous events so she could get a straight forward, immediate answer.

All the while, Cando sat upon his horse red hot with anger. _Could Humphrey truly be beating me? There's no way he could have won her favor so quickly. Besides, I come from a richer family. And I have better manners, and not such a scruffy and rough appearance_ said Cando to himself as he rubbed the sides of his muzzle experimentally and looked upon himself with the clean, reflective surfaces of armor upon his forearm. _Plus, I was specially selected to protect Kate because of my superior combat prowess, while Humphrey was only requested to come along by…Kate._ It all made sense to Cando now. He had only been losing, because he was already defeated in the first place. But Cando wasn't one to go down quietly. He would throw all his strength into this mental and strategic battle of emotions to win Kate's hand. Even if physical strength made an appearance as well between him and Humphrey.

Cando slowed his horse down, letting the rest of the group pass him by, and got himself even with Kate. The golden helmet upon her head shifted as she looked up at him. Kate forced a welcoming smile upon her lips, trying to hide her embarrassment that still resided in her thoughts. "Good morning Cando. A great day, is it not" she asked, trying to start the conversation with no way to relate it with what happened earlier in the day. Cando went along, after all he was trying to improve his standings in the battle, not decrease them by making her angry.

"A gorgeous one indeed. The sun truly seems to shine brighter in the desert. It makes the Node glimmer beautifully as well" replied Cando, getting a more genuine smile from Kate as she realized he was correct in the prettiness of the Node in the orange blanket of the sun. "You have a point there. I wish every day could be like this. It's so peaceful." Cando nodded his understanding. Just because he was a high ranking soldier whose life revolved and depended on his ability to kill didn't mean he didn't enjoy the nice calmer days.

"So, if I can ask.." Kate nodded for him to continue, inwardly hoping it wasn't about the mornings events. "What do you think about the current situation, and the continuation of the mission as a whole?"

"How do you mean" asked Kate, breathing a sigh of relief that Cando had the courtesy to not bring up such a touchy subject of the moment. "Well, what do you think about General Kade's news on the group two's destruction? And how do you believe we should proceed with his mission, as we only have a limited source of man power." Kate thought hard for an answer, as Cando had a good point with their limit in soldiers.

"We have to take the city of Kolokaton, the stockpile of weapons there is our main mission goal, as was the second group's. But with such a small squad…I don't really know. We could try to sneak into the city. After all, the imperialist guards and soldiers wouldn't be suspecting such a small group of soldiers to be right under their noses after they just wiped out a huge army. Or we could just have me kill all the people, civilians excluded, in the city, but that runs the risk of me being figured out, and I'm in no shape magically to battle a trained magician. Though it wouldn't matter all that much, at least family and emotionally wise. I have no loved ones here in the squad, so it would make my death easier for me to swallow, as I wouldn't be immediately leaving my family behind in such an awful way."

" I think we should only resort to the latter in case of an emergency, and even then it would still be unwise" said Cando. "If we lose you, it wouldn't only be a big blow to our military and to Eve and Winston,your family" said Cando, trying to stop her thinking of her death being easier. "but it would also be a shame upon Startongo if such a beautiful female was lost just for a few flimsy blades and bows." continued Cando, taking his opportunity to flirt with Kate to even further increase his chances for her hand. For the second time that day Kate's cheeks burned. "Why thank you. You truly are such a gentlemen" replied Kate, smiling widely at the male across from her. Before Cando could say anymore, General Kades voice rang out among the group.

"We've reached the edge of the forest. Refill your canteens, as we will only see minimal pools of water along the way. It's a forest, not an ocean. The abundance of vegetation will allow the horses to eat and gain water from the grass and leaves. Hopefully we will catch some game along the way so we won't have such a dry meal again." The soldiers all dismounted, allowing their beasts to graze and rest while they refueled on water and rested themselves. Thankfully no one mentioned Kate and Humphrey's interactions, and only small chatter was played amongst the group. With the sun reaching its middle point in the sky, signifying a time around noon, the soldiers remounted and continued onward, now riding alongside the much cooler tree line. Cando was no longer back with Kate as he was caught up in a conversation with Claws, Hutch and General Kade. So Humphrey took a risk and reduced his horses pace so he was even with Kate.

At first, nothing was said between the two friends. They just sat in an awkward silence as the steeds trudged on. After what seemed like ages, Kate worked up the courage and plainly asked Humphrey "what are your thoughts on this morning?" Humphrey was slightly shocked at how bluntly she asked the question, and he considered it for only a few moments before responding. "Well I'm embarrassed about it, as I'm sure you're the same." Kate nodded. "That's not what I mean though."

Humphrey knew what she meant by that. She was really asking about his feelings to their 'kiss' and how he felt about their relationship. "I…" Humphrey stuttered. He really didn't know how he felt. Sure he was behind thrilled that it almost happened, and he would love to finish what they started. But he didn't know Kate's feelings on the matter yet. If she wasn't as excited about what could have been, then he could just ruin their relationship with saying he was pleased and that he had wanted a kiss from her for a very long time. But if she felt the same, then maybe he could get all of his dream. Them being together. Humphrey tried to scan her eyes for any signs on how she felt, but for once her golden orbs didn't seem as comforting and inviting, just a blank slate. It was as if she was deliberately trying to hide her emotions and feelings. She wanted an honest answer, and Humphrey wasn't sure if he should give her one.

The longer he paused, the more Kate shifted in her saddle as if she was uncomfortable. _She's just as anxious about my answer to her question as I am_ thought Humphrey. Finally, he decided to take the high road, and opened up his feelings. "I think…I think we should try it again. Kate, we've been friends for so long, since we were little pups when the land was at peace. And being truthfully honest, I've always carried an attraction towards you. You're the kind of wolf to always see the good in someone. Always the one to lend a hand for another. The one who has a smile on her face regardless of the current situation, and always not afraid to put one on a friends face in a time of need. What I'm trying to say is…I love you." By this time, the groups conversation up ahead had stopped, and they were all turned around in their saddles as the listened on upon Humphrey's confessions. "So my thought about this morning? I wish we weren't interrupted. I wish my dream had come true, I wish we had kissed. Because even in the long run, when another lucky man sweeps you off your feet, I would still get something I've only thought a dream. And hopefully, when that man does come and get you, at least we would still hopefully be friends, with an even stronger bond because of the one kiss, the one physical touch with romantic lighting we shared." As Humphrey's speech came to an end, he found himself wishing he had a delete button. He couldn't believe he had just opened up his heart like that, and now he was very afraid of Kate's reaction.

The only thing Kate said was "Well this makes the latter option completely avoidable then, huh Cando?"

 **Well, there's chapter 5. I know it's short still, but typing on the Microsoft word app of an iPhone ain't easy alright?! Hahaha, just kidding, but really my thumbs are killing me (: Also, I hope you all understand the ending. In case you didn't, Kate is referring to hers and Cando's conversation earlier in the chapter, with how Kate felt her death would be easier since she didn't have anyone she loved or who loved her around. Hope I cleared that up for ya! Hope you all have a wonderful April fools and what not, and I'll see you next time.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N sorry for the late update guys, ive been busy with quite a few things, including end of year testing, the doom beta, and europa universalis 4. Actually… that's about it, lol. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, I finally get to use a computer so hopefully it's a little better in terms of spelling and grammar. Hope you all enjoy, I'll see you all in the next one.**

Kate walked towards a clearing in the dense vegetation of the forest, a bundle of dry twigs cradled in her arms. Behind her was Claws, the only other female presence within the entire group of soldiers. She too was transporting fuel for a fire. Within the boundaries of the clearing sat the rest of the group, General Kade kneeled next to Hutch and Cando while Humphrey sat on the other side. As Kate and Claws laid down the last shipments of twigs, Hutch went to work with his flint and steel, trying to ignite the small branches for a source of light and a source of heat to cook the small meal they were about to have. Unfortunately for them, their attempts to catch some game in the forest had wound up futile, and they were again stuck with a dwindling supply of dried meat and stale, hard to the touch bread. Little to any conversation was heard as Hutch eventually got the fire to light and went to boiling some water to cook the remaining meat. Hutch returned to his sitting position upon the ground.

The group was enveloped in an awkward silence. The previous hours of the day had been very eventful for two wolves who now sat next to each other, their names being Kate and Humphrey. The day started with the two almost having a physical intimate interaction, but had been interrupted by the rest of the soldiers who had found the scene playing out in front of them amusing. All except for another wolf who went by the name Cando, who had been battling Humphrey for Kates favor. Seeing the two together in that way had got him rather angry, so when the group re-mounted and continued to head towards the forest they were now in, he had a conversation with the female, sneaking in flirts and compliments left in right. But his attempts were in vain compared to what Humphrey had done afterwards, laying out his heart on the line as he told Kate his feelings of compassion and love towards her.

The following events were all rather confusing and awkward. Nothing was said after Humphrey's confession, in fact, they continued on the path, the same silence that caught all their tongues earlier now acting up again. Eventually General Kade found a good area to rest for the approaching night, and all the wolves dismounted their steeds and went among tasks to set up camp without sharing another word. And now here they all sat staring into the dancing flames of the fire in front of them. The only noise was the crackling of the fire and the shuffling of Kate moving away from the fire because the heat was beginning to get a little too much for her. Kate found herself trapped within her own thoughts, desperately wishing for someone to break the silence and allow her mind to focus on the conversation. But alas no one did, and Kate's mind was having internal battles.

She wanted to stretch out her mind and use magic to sense the feelings and thoughts of the wolves around her, but restrained herself from the action, as the others would most definitely notice. So, she went to something else. _I could create a sparring circle for me and Humphrey…no, not after everything that happened today. Speaking of which…_ her thoughts delved into the topic of her and Humphrey. _I don't know if I should be happy or afraid of Humphrey's confessions. I would be lying to myself if I said I didn't have itches of the same thoughts towards him as he does to me. And I do have a desire to speak the same to him, which would not only improve our relationship, but it would kill this god awful silence. At the same time, emotional ties could prove fatal in a military stand point. Our feelings for one another could get us killed. Though I doubt that admitting our feelings would stop that, he would still give his life for me and I for him, even if it wasn't the best choice for our armies cause._ The thought of soldiers soon brought another male into her mind, one who she had gotten to know only recently.

 _And what of Cando? He's made it embarrassingly obvious I suit his fancy as well. And though I hate to admit it, his riches and family heritage could prove likely to give me a better life then Humphrey could, the only problem is, does he suit MY fancy more than Humphrey. In some cases, I suppose he does. He's more…mannerly social wise, and his prestige within our military and his family background would prove to give me a very comfortable life. But Humphrey and I have been inseparable since we were pups, and to be honest I trust him with my life more then Cando's._ Kate's head continued to twirl viscously, striking down Humphrey for Cando, then lifting Humphrey back up and plummeting Cando's appeal, only to repeat the cycle. She realized that this was the second mental dilemma in the past few hours she's had. Mentally she was drained and could no longer take the constant struggle. She swallowed down her fear of a conversation taking an awkward turn and brought her voice to life.

"So…though Cando and I had discussed our thoughts on our mission and how best to complete it, I would also like to hear from the rest of you." Said Kate. _Oh god, I butchered that opener_ she says to herself, mentally mortified. Thankfully, General Kade paid it no mind and continued on the conversation. "Well" came his reply. "I think were at the obvious disadvantage no matter which way you look at it. We could sit here all day and come up with different possibilities for a way in to the city, or a way to kill the garrison stationed there. But the fact remains no matter which way you look at it. We just do not have enough numbers to pull this off effectively, and if we manage to, it would come at some cost. To be completely honest, I think the only way to do this, is to take a risk and allow Kate to magically strike them down."

General Kade didn't have to point out the dangers and risks with that plan, everyone already knew them. And to Humphrey, those outcomes were unacceptable. "Absolutely not. There has to be another way. I refuse to sit on the side lines while Kate puts her life in danger for this mission. I don't know about you two" said Humphrey, looking at Cando and Hutch. "But I was brought along on this mission to assure Kates safety. And risking the chances of her being caught by another magician puts my mission and her life in to the wind. Not only will I refuse this plan because of my mission and her importance to this army, but emotionally as well" Said Humphrey with confidence, taking a stand even if he was embarrassing himself. Kate was right in her assumptions of her and Humphrey's emotional ties getting in the way of their mission.

Then another female voice entered the conversation. "Humphrey, though I know you and Kate are close, and it was your mission to protect her, the stockpile of armaments there cannot be allowed to be controlled by the empire. There is enough high grade, expertly crafted weapons for everyone in our army to have a set, and that would be a huge improvement to the cracked and dented shields and swords we are using currently" explained Claws, drawing a her sword from the sheath on her hip to prove her argument, the orange glow from the fire engulfing and highlighting the multiple impurities with her weapon.

"Well, what if we don't kill anyone" said Hutch, making his show in the conversation as well. "Though the weapons would help to improve combat ability and morale in our army, it also is giving the empire a huge advantage. Why don't we just destroy the weapons, effectively stopping the empire from using it on us? I'm sure Kate knows a spell to achieve that outcome, right?" Kate nodded. "Yes, I have a few in my books. I couldn't get it done quickly, but it could be done. Though, just because I'm not killing anyone doesn't mean a hostile magician will notice me. They would be able to sense my magic, they don't need physical proof to find and attack me."

"Couldn't you check for an enemy magician then, before you decide to attack?" Kate turned to General Kade, who asked the question. "No, like I said I don't have to kill anyone, or even commit a spell. If I use magic in any way, be it to kill something, destroy something, or check for another magician, I would be signaling my presence." General Kade pointed to the bags upon her horse who was tethered to a tree a few meters away. "Maybe you could search through your books for a spell to mask your presence."

This caused the group to look at Kate hopefully when she didn't immediately point out a flaw in his plan. "I might be able to find one…but it would be hard, and it would be a very difficult spell to cast. Finding it could take long, and then learning to cast it? We could be here a few months before I can even come close to completing something like that, it would be a very hard spell to commit. And I don't think we have the luxury of time on our side." This time Cando spoke up, sticking with the original plan. "And why can't we just sneak in, toss a torch on the building and then flee?" While General Kade's reason was that the enemy force was too large for anyone to slip in, Kate again came up with yet another flaw. "If they have a magician there, he would check you over. With a war going on and all, any magician protecting such a strategic city would be called upon to maintain the security. He would check you over before letting you in, and you don't have the skills to keep your mind hidden in case that happened."

"Could you teach me?" Kate shook her head. "I could, but not only would you not have enough power, like me, but it would also take many months." Cando nodded slowly, then again spoke, but this time more quietly. "If I were to try and enter the city and they stopped me, and there really was a magician at the city, would he be vulnerable while he was probing my mind?" "For a few second, yes" confirmed General Kade, having some knowledge of magic wielders, as he was a commander after all, and he probably had magicians under his command in the days before he was reduced to leading a rebellion. "So then Kate would be able to sense his magical presence. If you had a window like that to attack, do you think you could kill the magician?" For the second time, a hopeful stare was placed on Kate by the whole group. "I…I believe so" was all she responded with.

"Well, if anyone else has any ideas…" said Kade, giving a pause to let someone else speak. When no one did, he continued. "Then I think we should do this. But only if you two are sure with this." Both Kate and Cando nodded. Humphrey went to speak, but Kade cut him off. "I know you care about her Humphrey, but we have a time frame here, and we can't leave without destroying these weapons or taking them as our own. If both Kate and Cando are willing to take this risk then it is up to them to do it. No arguments, that's an order." Humphrey reluctantly closed his mouth, and with an angry look, let it go. With Humphrey taken care of, Kade decided to go over the plan before everyone turned in.

"So this is what will happen. Cando will walk up to the gates while the rest of us wait a safe distance away. If Kate doesn't sense any magician and Cando is granted access, Kate can kill all the soldiers in the city without worry of an enemy magician. If Cando however is probed, Kate will feel it and will attack the magician when he or she is vulnerable. Everyone with me so far?" All the wolves nodded. "Good. Once Kate kills the magician, if there is one, then she will use the rest of her energy to kill the remaining soldiers. By this point, Kate will be drained, so Humphrey, you will stay and watch over her" Humphrey nodded.

"The civilians should be terrified by everyone suddenly being killed, so we will threaten their lives unless they help us pack up all the weapons. Once that is done, they will 'donate' us a carriage where we will store the weapons, and we will then return to the army. Since we can't bring a wheeled carriage through the desert, we will go through the empires roads. We will bring some civilians along so that it looks like we are a large nomadic group so no passing patrols suspect anything. If all goes well, we should be back at group 3 with a whole stockpile of weapons within the next two weeks." Everyone agreed on the plan, and then turned in. They had a big ahead of them.

 **A/N well, I hope you all enjoyed. I know I didn't delve too much into the topic of Kate and Humphrey's relationship, but I hope you can see why, as there are more pressing matters for them to discuss and handle at the moment. Still, I hope you guys enjoyed and I'll catch ya next time, thanks for all the support, it means the world to me. Peace.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N Well, another chapter up for you guys, so like always, I hope you enjoy the chapter. And on a side note, June will probably not experience any chapters for this story, as in the month of June, school is ending, I'm going to a slipknot concert, going to north Dakota for nitro circus, heading back to Utah, then going back to north Dakota to spend a month and a half their, all in the process of June. So I apologize for that in advance. Anyway, to the story**

Cando walked nervously to the tall cobblestone walls that housed the city of Kolokaton, the sun high in the sky shining brightly upon it. A nice breeze flew through the grass as Cando walked upon it. When he got close enough to the city limits, two guard's heads perked up, and they quickly snapped out of their sloppy, undisciplined stance and went into a protective one, drawing their swords from their sheaths. When Cando got close enough to see the soldiers faces from within their helmets, he secretly hopped the tunic he was wearing was able to hide the little amounts of armor he had on, as well as his dagger.

"Stop" came one of the soldiers, taking a step forwards with his weapon still drawn. "What business do you have here?" Cando gulped inwardly, and spoke: "Family. I heard there was a battle here not too long ago, and I came to make sure they were safe." The soldier's sword lowered a little, but was still out in the open. "Well, I can understand a male looking out for his family. But we must search you over to make sure you're not with the rebellion. You understand." After that, the wolf whistled loudly, piercing the otherwise calm scenery with a high pitched noise. From atop the city's walls came two robbed figures, their features hidden by the shade provided from the hoods. One of them placed his left hand to his temple, and outstretched his right hand towards Cando.

Cando instantly felt something poking against his head, realizing that he was being scanned by a magician. He also realized in fear that there were not one, but two figures standing atop the wall, meaning both had to possess magical capabilities. He knew Kate wouldn't have been able to see this, as her, Humphrey and the rest of the group were hiding within the trees, waiting for Kate's all clear signal. Cando only stood for a second before the probing sensation in his mind vanished, and the magician responsible of the actions started to scream, placing both hands on his head in pain. A moment later, he dropped dead, falling backwards off the wall. Cando, the two soldiers, and the remaining magician stood in shock. Then the wolves guarding the gate jumped to action, rushing Cando with their swords, assuming he killed the magician. Cando pulled out his dagger and got ready to fight, but started to have second doubts as the cities gates opened up, and a whole squad of fully armed imperial foot soldiers stormed out. His doubts finally forced him to turn and flee as a multitude of archers appeared on either side of the mage on the wall, their bows all targeted on him. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him, hearing the _twang_ of arrows as they were shot through the sky, and the thud as they landed right at his feet, burying themselves in the dirt as he ran past. He could also hear the shuffle of metal as the soldiers gave pursuit.

As Cando reached the tree line Kade, Hutch and Claws burst out of the vegetation, swords and shields at the ready. Kade threw an extra sword he was carrying to Cando, and the four got ready to fight. "We should really retreat!" yelled Cando as the soldiers got closer to the band of rebellion fighters, his voice acquiring a high pitch to it as the upcoming battle made him nervous. "We can't" Hutch responded. "Kate killed the first mage, but she didn't sense the second one. He started to attack her, and though Kate was able to sense it in time and throw up a defensive, she is practically immobilized. It's taking all her strength and concentration to hold her own against the other magician, and if she were to lose focus trying to run to her horse, she would surely die. We have to keep these wolves at bay long enough till Kate or the enemy mage drop dead. Humphrey is staying by her side in case we fail."

Cando growled angrily. "This is all going to shit" he said through his teeth, the other wolves noticing his use of the curse word. A few seconds later, the two groups clashed. The imperials were obviously well rested and well trained, because they easily parried the four's attacks. And with them having the superior number, having six compared to four, they were able to overwhelm them quickly, forcing them to back up into the vegetation of the forest. This proved to work to their advantage however. The empire's armor was already bulky and hard to move in, but the stray branches and shrubs made it really hard for the imperial soldiers to operate. Quickly, two of the soldiers were dispatched of, now making the battle fairer. Kade thanked gods for the distance between the city walls and the vegetation, as the archers were useless at this range, leaving him and his men free range to move around the soldiers without fear of an arrow. They used this to their advantage as well, and started push the empire back.

 _Humphrey's 3_ _rd_ _person pov thing. Yeah, totally professional terms used in this transition lol (:_

Humphrey was crouched down next to Kate, his hand placed on her shoulder as a sort of comfort, though he doubted she acknowledged it. Her eyes were closed tightly, her upper lip curled into a silent snarl as her top teeth bit down on her bottom lip violently, causing blood to run down her chin. Her hands were clenched tightly as well, her nails drawing blood from her palms. Humphrey could tell she was in serious amounts of pain and distress, and he wished desperately that he could help her. But he couldn't, as distracting her could prove to be fatal. Humphrey just had to sit and watch as someone he cared about deeply was in a searing amount of pain. He found himself having to look away, not being able to watch her deliberately cause this pain to herself trying to maintain enough power to battle the enemy magician. He stood from her side regretfully and quickly ran to the sound of nearby fighting, trying to get a glimpse on how Kade, Cando, Hutch and Claws were doing. He only saw Imperials on the forest floor, so that had to be a good thing. His eyes then drifted to the city, and standing with the archers stood a tall wolf in a robe, still as a statue.

Humphrey realized instantly from his solid pose and the concentration he was maintain on the empty space in front of him that held nothing of interest that this was the magician Kate was doing battle with. _He's right in the open_ Humphrey thought to himself. _If only we had an archer that survived in Kades army we co…_ Humphrey turned and ran towards the camp they had set up last night where the horses were set up, and went towards Blindside. The beast snorted as he came up beside it, and Humphrey ran his hand down its snout to calm it. "Easy" he said to it softly as he ripped open the pouch upon its back and grabbed his bow and quiver of arrows. He then untethered Blindside and sent him sprinting towards the tree line, making sure Kate was still ok along the way. He had to admit, he was extremely proud of her to have survived this long. _Just a little longer Kate, just a little longer._

 _Back to the fight between Kade and his men and the imperials._

Another imperial had fallen, this time to Hutch's blade as they continued to engage in combat. Kade had tried to hurry his squad to dispatch of these soldiers before the reinforcements pouring out of the city made it to the forest so they could focus on the real test that was about to commence. They quickly surrounded the remaining three soldiers and practically executed them. Afterwards, they stayed within the vegetation, waiting for the entire garrison within the city to reach them so they could engage on Kade's terms. They quickly set up a few traps, laying branches upon the shrubs and tying soft twigs to shrubs on the ground to create a sort of trip wire. They were trying to get as prepared as possible for the upcoming fight. Claws finished tying up the last twig as the empire's soldiers burst through the forest, charging with weapons held high. The four soldiers of the rebellion rose to the challenge, swinging their blades with quick and precise strikes. General Kade parried two attacks at the same time, one with his shield and one with his sword. He countered instantly, slamming one soldier back with his shield while his sword flew through the air and buried itself in the neck of the other soldier. Kade then lunged backwards, dodging a slash at his legs. He noticed grimly that the imperials numbers almost instantly overpowered his small four man squad, and they were now being pushed back to where Kate and Humphrey were.

Kade continued to dodge and weave, countering with all his strength as he tried to halt the imperials advance. His sword was the bane of the empire, cutting down the enemy left and right. In fact, he did so well holding his ground that it put him at risk, as when Hutch, Claws, and Cando got to overwhelmed and fell back, he was getting surrounding trying to hold his ground. He inwardly cursed his allies, wishing that their swordsmanship was better so they could stand a chance against this superior force. Just then, a small horse crashed through the shrubs, and ran right through a good number of imperials as it went. Kade noticed Humphrey upon it, his bow gripped tightly in his hand. He didn't have enough time to contemplate what Humphrey was doing however, as he and his soldiers took advantage of the confusion and destruction Humphrey caused to the imperials line of soldiers by killing the ones still on the ground or who were getting themselves back on their feet. Kade smiled to himself, as this could be the boost his squad needed to push back the enemy.

 _Humphrey's pov again._

Humphrey crashed Blindside into the enemy wolves, giving Kade a little relief as he rushed towards the wall. When he finally reached the edge of the vegetation, he stopped in his tracks. The city was sending its entire military garrison out of the city to attack. There would be no way for Humphrey to get near the mage to get a clear shot. He growled angrily and decided to shoot from where he was, perched upon his horse. He pulled an arrow and lined it up with the mage. He fired, seeing where the arrow landed as a reference to see how he would have to angle his next shot. The arrow fell short by a long run. Humphrey again lined up the mage, but this time he curved the bow up more, trying to get more distance out of his bow. Again he let go of the arrow, and again he fell short. He realized that he couldn't get closer, and he couldn't get his bow to shot the length required to hit the mage.

Then yet another idea came to him. This one was even riskier, but if it worked, they would be able to succeed with their mission. Humphrey flipped Blindside around and rode quickly back the way he came, making sure he hit a few more soldiers along the way to help his four friends. He regrettably noticed that they had lost even more ground, and were now getting alarmingly close to Kate. When he entered the clearing, she was still crouched down, all color that showed through her fur now gone, but whether it was from the blood loss of her lips and hands or the intensity of the battle he did not know. He lifted his leg up and over his beast and ran to Kate. What he was about to do could kill her, so he was as careful as possible. He didn't want to put her life in any more danger, but this was the only way he could think of to kill the enemy mage. "Kate" he said softly, gently rocking her with his hands.

Slowly, one eyelid opened up, and a golden orb was looking directly at him, surrounded by pure red. In just that split second, Humphrey could see all the pain and misery she was going through. He noticed that the color on her face hadn't disappeared, but rather her cheeks being literally covered in tears, shining back the weak sun that penetrated through the trees that gave her such a pale look, and the red eyes. He continued to speak, trying to block out Kate's pain so he could focus on helping her survive. "Kate, I have an idea, but I don't know if it will work." Humphrey noticed Kate shudder violently. Her mixing her attention span between the battle and Humphrey was killing her. Instead of explaining his reasoning for his plan, he skipped straight to the question he needed to ask. "If I shot an arrow could you use magic to propel it forward with enough strength to hit the magician?" Kate blinked twice slowly. "Is that a yes?" Again, two blinks from her one eye that was open. Humphrey didn't know for sure, but assumed it was a yes, and stood with his bow. He aimed through the trees right at the mage, making sure he wouldn't hit any leaves or branches along the way. He aimed up, and asked Kate if she was ready. One blink. Two blink. Humphrey fired the arrow, watching it exit the forest. Once it was clear of the trees, he told Kate to use her magic. Humphrey jumped from the scream Kate released at the moment, and then Humphrey saw her fall seemingly lifeless to the floor.

 _Kade pov_

Kade heard Kate scream, a sick, blood curdling scream. He went to look behind him to maybe see what was happening, but an object moving through the sky caught his eye. He followed it, and realized it was an arrow. It flew straight ahead, an unnatural flight pattern for an arrow. And a second later, it buried itself in the chest of the mage standing one the city wall. His hood flew back and Kade could see the pain written across his face as his hands gripped the arrow stuck in his chest, before he slowly fell to his knees, and then his death. Kade was snapped back to the fight at hand by another startling scream, again coming from a female. Looking to his right, Kade saw an imperial soldier with his sword lodged through Claws's left leg. Kade lunged over and sliced at the soldier's neck and he fell dead. Before Kade could help her with the sword, Imperialist soldiers swarmed them, noticing that Claws was weak and they were trying to finish her off. Kade saw Hutch and Cando fending for themselves, so he was on his own to defend claws.

He fought bravely, deflecting blades and cutting limbs, fighting with all his might. But there was just too many, and one got around Kade, stabbing the downed Claws through her chest, ending her life. Kade killed the wolf, then yelled for Hutch and Cando to retreat. As they turned and started to run, Kade yelled out again through the forest: "Humphrey! Get you and Kate on a horse now!" The imperialists chased after their prey, crashing through the vegetation as they chased them down. When Kade got to the clearing, Humphrey had already had Kate strapped onto her horse. Kade saw her and instantly knew she had passed out. He jumped on his horse, not even bothering to strap his feet in has he made his horse sprint away, Humphrey sitting on Kate's horse with her. As the five rode away, Humphrey looked back and felt a stabbing sensation in his gut as the imperialists, knowing they would not be able to catch the soldiers, slit the neck of Claws horse, and he realized that Claws didn't make it. Blindside sprinted besides Humphrey and Kate, no rider on his back, but being smart enough to follow Humphrey. The five rode for over an hour, pushing their horses to the limit just in case the empire did follow them. They eventually had to stop, their horses being unable to maintain the current pace. They unsaddled and led the horses up onto a hill within the forest, so they could have the overlook of the surrounding area. Humphrey lifted Kate's limp body and placed it down on the ground, and instantly started checking over her, while Hutch and Cando went on guard duty. Kade went to the nearby trees to collect wood for a small fire.

Humphrey checked Kate for a pulse, and was relieved to feel the faintest beat of her heart. He sighed happily, and removed his tunic, folding it to use as a pillow for Kate to lay on, as he was too tired to go grab her sleeping roll. He then went to help Kade. Kate was still asleep by the time they started the fire, and no conversation was brought to life between the four males. They all knew that the mission they just attempted was a failure, and they had lost a good friend. They saved a peace of food for Kate for when she awoke, and assigned a very strict and secure guarding assignment. Then they turned in for the night.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N sorry for the late update guys, I guess I just didn't really feel like updating recently. But I'm back with chapter 8, so I hope you guys enjoy, and again, sorry for the late update. Also, quick side note….check me out on utube, nudge40gaming!...(yeah, that's right I'm self advertising bitches haha)

WARNING, MATURE THEMES! (not detailed, but still mature themes)

Humphrey sat alone upon a rock in the dark, early hours of the morning. It was his turn to be on watch, but he wasn't really doing his job. All of his attention was centered on Kate, who had almost died during the assault on the empires city. She still had yet to awaken, and her faint pulse and no response was starting to worry Humphrey. He was by no means a magician, nor did he really understand how to work it and the basic concepts of it. He had no clue what kind of effects could have happened to Kate for that split second the enemy magician was in her head. For all he knew, he could have attacked her physically, possibly popping a blood vessel or something else that wasn't easily noticeable until the afflicted was dead. Or, he could have not had enough time to cause any real damage, and might have just been able to put in her a coma. Of course, it could also be that she used her literal last amount of energy to propel his arrow and it just sent her into a deep sleep to regain her energy. Whichever it was, Humphrey hoped that they had enough time to keep Kate stable and safe long enough to avoid the empire, who were no doubt searching for them.

The thoughts of the empire reaching Kate set him back on track, and he pushed his wandering thoughts from his mind. He straightened his back and started to focus on the trees and shrubs around him listing for any movement and scanning the darkness as best he could with his eyes. Looking up through the blanketing treetops, he saw the moon slowly start to descend. If he did his math right, he only had and hour and a half before he could wake Hutch for his watch. Setting his eyes back down to keep guard, everything seemed to be calm for around an hour. But as Humphrey's eyes started to droop his ears picked up the faint crack of a twig. At first, he shrugged it off. A lot of animals come out during the night, so he paid it no mind. Then another cracked twig, and another, and yet another, and Humphrey stood up. He quietly drew his sword, clenching the hilt of his sword with a death grip to keep the sword as quiet as possible as it exited it's sheath.

The moon provided a very minimal amount of lighting through the dense trees, and the lighting that got through created large shadows after hitting the shrubs along the forest floor, causing the shadows to play with his eyes. Still, he tried his best to scan the forest. He quickly diverted his attention towards the group, making sure nothing had already gotten to them. Humphrey started to back up, planning to wake the rest of the group, excluding Kate, so they would stand a better chance. He kept his eyes in front of him and slowly shuffled his feet backwards, inching closer and closer to the camp center where he would find his back up. Just before he reached the center, he saw a dark clad figure dart across his field of vision. It was obviously the form of a wolf. Humphrey, without really thinking, let his soldier instincts kick in. He chased after the figure, ducking and dodging to avoid bushes and branches.

Humphrey was in hot pursuit, and was close to finally closing the gap between him and his target. He got lucky when the figure tripped upon a broken branch, and Humphrey lunged at him, drawing his blade again as he had put it back away to make it easier to chase the wolf down. He came down upon the wolf and instantly thrusted his sword. He was met with the empty feeling of his blade burying itself within the earth floor. Before he could remove it, he received a hard punch to his abdomen, nocking the wind out of him as he rolled over onto his side. The wolf then got back up and started to throw punches at Humphrey, striking him in his sides, arms, and face. Humphrey kicked in desperation and was able to stun his assailant so he could stand and grab his sword. He was able to see the wolf more clearly now as the trees were less dense in this part of the forest, and was surprised to see the figure of a female. His mind did a double take, as the empire didn't conscript females into the military. Humphrey side stepped a slash from the assailants weird dagger, and back stepped to gain more room.

"Hey, wait!" Humphrey said, easing out his hand to stop her from attacking. "I'm not with the empire, stop attacking" he said, assuming that this what she had thought. All he got in response was a surprisingly deep growl, and again she attacked. Humphrey defended himself, but the wolf knew what she was doing, and she continually tried to get in close and personal, as her dagger would be more effective at close range then Humphrey's sword. And eventually her tactic worked, and she was able to disarm him, his sword flying out of his hands and burying itself a few feet away into the earth. Humphrey threw his hands up and stopped a downwards strike from the female, and was for a split second able to get a good look at her face, which was hidden before by her cowl. He was shocked to see the slight definitions of red and blue mixed in her fur, and green steaks over her eyes. Humphrey was right in his assumption, the wolf wasn't with the empire, she was feral. Feral wolves were a nomadic group of wolves who had no real diplomatic or friendly relationship with anyone besides their immediate family, who were also usually feral. They were most commonly found within the deeper, more dangerous parts of the forest, and were the equivalent of a common raider, except they killed for food and weapons, and had no way of reasoning for they knew no language. Ferals are also notorious for traviling in packs so they could easily over power their prey.

Humphrey realized with horror that this female was a distraction, meant to lead him away from his group while the rest of the ferals moved in and 'disposed' of his group. Humphrey, who had her hands with the dagger gripped over his head in defense, threw her arms upwards. In her exposed state, Humphrey kicked her in the stomach, causing her to fly backwards. Humphrey ran to his sword, looked upon the forest floor for his tracks, and started his full on sprint back to his camp. He could hear the female take chase, but Humphrey's adrenaline and fear for Kate and his group was enough to propel him way faster then the other wolf. He arrived in record time, and emerged into the clearing to see the three males tied up in the center, while the Feral's where ripping through the packs on their horses to steal their food. One feral had the passed out form of Kate tossed over his shoulder, completely tied up. Humphrey had heard story's of people who have escaped the captivity of Feral's, and from those he knew that they were going to use Kate's body to breed.

In a split second, Humphrey went blind with rage, and ran towards the wolf with Kate's body in his hands. Before he could reach the wolf however, Humphrey was slammed down onto the ground by another feral. The one who slammed him down then proceeded to hold him down while the rest of the ferals mounted their steeds and rode off into the night. The feral that stayed to hold down Humphrey ended up with a sword through his stomach. Humphrey jumped up and went to jump on blindside to give pursuit, but he got hit hard on his head from behind. With his last seconds of vision, he saw the female feral standing over him, before everything went black.

A few hours later

Humphrey awoke with a start, his head buzzing with a painful headache. For a split second, he thought it was all a dream, but looking around, he realized it wasn't. Tears of rage and depression instantly sprung to his eyes. He couldn't believe how idiotic he was. The ferals were good at covering their tracks, the chances of finding Kate was little to non. Because of him, his group had no food. And Kate was going to be used as a toy, constantly going to be raped and used till she could no longer produce offspring for the feral pack. Humphrey growled in the most deep and hate raged noise he could muster as he shook with rage, tears streaming down his cheeks. _I still have to try_ Humphrey thought to himself, as he stood and grabbed his sword. He uncut the bounded soldiers within his group, who had awoken when everything happened last night. They said no words to Humphrey, as all four males mounted their horses and road off in a desperate attempt to get Kate back. They rode for most of the day, almost six hours passing before they had to stop for their horses. They still had no clue to which way they were supposed to be heading towards, and the morale of the group was at an all time low.

Kate's pov

Kate's eyes jumped open with a start, and she grunted as she was shaken up and down. She realized quickly that she was tied to the back of a horse, and all around her were wolves with weird designs all across their faces. It took her only a second to realize that these wolves were feral. Fear struck her heart. She knew why ferals kidnapped females. Kate looked around for any of her friends, and was even more scared to find none of them were with her. She was all alone with a feral pack of wolves, who would probably start to go to work instantly on her once they reached their pack. She tried to use magic, but she was still to deprived of her strength to use her magic. She continued to bounce up and down upon the horse uncomfortably for an hour or so, before Kate started to see wooden huts, and a lot more wolves, including women and children. She realized regretfully that she had reached the pack. The males steered there horses into the largest of the wooden huts, where sitting upon a throne like chair was a young, muscular male. It was obvious he was the packs primary leader. On either side of him were female wolves, completely stripped of all clothing.

The pack leader waved the females away, and ordered his soldiers to untie Kate and bring her before him. Kate was only then to realize how weak she still was, as she instantly collapsed to her knees. The pack leader laughed, and stood up above her. He stripped her of luxurious and fancy fabric covering her body, and laid her down. All the males crowded around as the pack leader spread Kate's legs. Kate closed her eyes and clenched her fists, tears seeping out of her eyes.

Humphrey's pov

Humphrey sat upon Blindside as the group continued to move on, even in the dwindling hours of the night. They had to find Kate. As Humphrey pushed a branch out of his way, he felt the most significant mental pain he had ever endured. He cried out and fell off Blindside, the rest of the group stopping and turning around. Humphrey heard within his own head the screams of Kate, and saw visions of things that made him want torture every wolf in the visions. He stood, his eyes still clenched shut, the visions playing behind his eyes. He screamed in rage, and felt a stream of energy tap into his veins. Humphrey turned and released a huge amount of energy towards the trees within the forest. Opening his eyes, Humphrey saw a clear path written across the forest, flames licking at the trees not hit by the blast. Hutch, Cando and Kade all looked at him with surprise. Humphrey didn't have anytime to explain, though he doubted he would be able to anyway, and remounted Blindside. He kicked his heels into the horses thighs and it went flying off into the make shift path at a full on sprint.

He went down the path for an hour, the entire time pushing Blindside to the extreme. He felt bad for the small horse, but Kate mattered more to him, and he was willing to take the risk. Fortunately Blindside was able to make it to the end of the path, where they arrived upon a cliff over looking a village. Humphrey's eyes diverted to the largest hut, where through the open door he could see Kate, and a male towering over her. Humphrey didn't think twice before he leapt from blindside and landed in the village. He ran towards the central hut, killing anyone in his way, be it male, woman or child. He reached the largest hut, where all the ferals inside, were standing ready for him, as they had heard their fellow pack mates warning as he came towards them. Kate lay past them, tears all over her face, cuts across her nude body, and her arms wrapped around her knees in the fetal position.

Humphrey charged forwards, not even following an attack pattern like he was taught to. Instead he just attacked in a blind rage, and with in a few seconds, every male lay dead upon the floor, even the pack leader. Hutch, Cando, and Kade arrived at the hut, the rest of the ferals standing in shock at what had happened. Humphrey turned towards them, and charged forward. The three males watched Humphrey in horror as he killed every single feral, no matter the age and gender. By the time he was done, over 50 wolves laid dead, and his sword chipped and broken from all the slashes and cuts he had dealt. The whole process took less then three minutes. Humphrey then ran past the three males and kneeled down next to Kate, who jumped into his embrace. Humphrey just held her tight, shaking just like her as they sat their together, tears streaming down both of their cheeks.

A/N so like I said up above, very, very mature content. Sorry if it seems so rushed, I wanted to get this out cuz I feel like shit that I made you guys wait for so long. Either way, I hope you enjoyed


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N what's up guys! Sorry for the late update, no real excuse just didn't feel like updating. Either way I hope you guys enjoy! Also, I am working on another story that should be coming out soon so keep an eye out for that! The title is Metro.**

It took Kate a few minutes of crying in Humphrey's embrace to regain her composure, still traumatized by the recent emotional and physical abuse she just endured. She removed herself from his arms and stood shakily, Humphrey helping her stand straight. "You ok" asked Humphrey, his voice with a very caring tone. Kate shook her head, tears still slowly falling down her face. Humphrey put his hand under her chin, lifting her eyes to his. "It's gonna be ok, their gone now." Kate knew he was just trying to help, and gave him a weak nod. The smallest smile appeared on his lips. "I'll be right back, I'm going to go grab you some new clothes." Humphrey turned and ran back to Blindside, who was still at the top of the cliff overlooking the feral camp. As he did this, Kate took the opportunity to look around most of the camp. And what she saw shocked her.

Bodies lay sprawled across the earth, some mauled beyond recognition. Children, woman, even a few pregnant females were among the ranks. She couldn't believe her eyes. She never thought Humphrey, the nice and respectful wolf that she knew, would be capable of such monstrosities. Kate looked towards the three males standing at the entrance of the tent. "He went berserk" explained Kade. "I hate to say it, but I've never seen a more efficient…tool" added Hutch. Kate looked back towards the bodies. _Is this acceptable? She thought to herself. He did save me from those male's experiments, but the rest of the pack..._

Kate was brought out of her thoughts as Humphrey appeared in her vision, holding an outfit in his arms. He handed the clothes out to her, but she just stared at them, before her eyes went back up to his. Kate didn't see him the way she used to. She once saw him as a wolf who did what was right, and protected people. And though he did the right thing and protected Kate from her torment, the crimes he afflicted to the ferals afterwards were horrendous. He slaughtered innocents, children, wolves that didn't deserve to die.

"Kate" came Humphrey's soft, comforting voice. "The clothes." Kate nodded and grabbed them from his arms. "Thank you" she said quietly. Kate turned and walked further into the tent to put on her new apparel. Mean while, the three males stared at Humphrey with the same look given to him by Kate. When Humphrey noticed, he gave an awkward smile. "Why is everyone staring at me?" Cando simply pointed out to the pack that lay slaughtered a few feet away. Humphrey followed his direction and saw what he had done. "I did what I had to" he answered.

Kade shook his head. "Did you? They didn't pose much of a threat, if any. These, yes" he spoke, pointing towards Kate's assaulters. "But the woman and children? No, they didn't deserve this. You were blinded by rage." Humphrey laughed at him. "Do you really believe they to are void of the crimes these men have committed? I know for a fact that most of the females out their aren't, because their women took part in the attack on us just a day prior. And the children were most likely being bread to fight and breed, which would just increase the packs size and therefor increase their lethality and aggression towards innocent wolves travailing through the area." The three listened to Humphrey's rant, but they disagreed with his points.

"But the fact is that the children and women hadn't committed any crimes as of yet, or that we know of. You can't justify your actions against them when they have committed no actions to justify against." Humphrey scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Fine, believe in what you wish. What's done is done, and my actions just rid this land of a danger to civilization." By this point in the conversation, Kate had finished donning her new clothes and had exited the back room she had entered to change. The four males looked over to her. Humphrey smiled and walked up to her. "Fits well I hope, it looks like it does. When the ferals raided our camp, they ripped up most of our clothes, so those there are mine, since non of yours got sparred." _Neither did the women and children of the pack_ said Kate to herself. All Kate did to answer however was give a nod, confirming to him that they fit well.

"Then should we get a move on?" He said aloud as he moved back to Blindside and the other horses. Kate, Hutch, Cando and Kade followed suit, but all of them had new, changed views about Humphrey. If he was this vulnerable and unstable in a situation where Kate was in danger, he could be a huge concern to the Rebellion. But the four didn't make their concerns known to Humphrey as they saddled up upon their horses and started to trek back the way they came. Kate's mind was taken away from the pack as she looked around her, noting the cleared path of trees that seemed to have been caused by a blast of energy. "What happened here?" She asked to no one in particular. Hutch was the one who answered.

"I believe Humphrey unlocked the secrets of magic." Kate looked to Humphrey with shock, looking for conformation. Humphrey shrugged. "I don't know what it was really, I just felt a pain in my…well…" He motioned with his hand between his legs. "And the next thing I know, I caused a path to be cleared, which led right to you." It was at this moment that realization dawned on Kate. In her books that she would constantly study, their was one chapter in an arcane script containing the power of love. It was an almost forgotten form of power, but it explained the concept of love being a key to magic. If a singularity, most commonly a wolf as they were the most intelligent and capable of such feelings, felt a connection or bond strong enough with another, their distress in moments of that others harm or discomfort could be enough to release magical energy. This also had short term side effects of dementia and panic, usually causing the afflicted to kill any threat, even if it were as minimal as a child. This only happened however in extreme cases, which explained why this didn't happen to Humphrey in Kate's battle with the magician. Though she felt in serious amounts of danger, the nature of the arcane must have had confidence in her abilities, for Humphrey's 'condition' wasn't triggered. At least, this is what she assumed, as the old scripts like those were much different in language then the more modern books she studied now. She couldn't be truly sure what had caused Humphrey to feel her pain and release his capabilities in magic.

She did however make note of this to the rest of the group, trying to clear the air of Humphrey's actions. It seemed to work, at least with Kade and Hutch. Cando however still seemed to hold a grudge on his actions regardless of Kate's explanation. With Humphrey's actions now being justified for the most part, the group was more at ease, and talked more freely. They avoided delicate matters of conversation though, such as combat, or of the all to popular banter amongst males, sex. Their horses continued to walk through the forest far into the night, by which point the group had little clue to where they actually were. The group decided to set up camp. They lit a small fire to avoid detection of any other ferals nearby, and ate a very unappetizing meal, consisting of only stale bread, as the meat was unable to be cooked well enough with such a small fire. As everyone was finishing up their bread, the topic of watch came up.

"Well" started Kade in between swallowing. "How are we going to set up the watch schedule? Though I doubt we will be attacked again, I'd rather be safe then sorry."

"We could take shifts of two" suggested Kate. Hutch shook his head. "Somebody would have to watch twice, since we are at an uneven number." "Not true, nearing morning the risks of an attack would be severely lowered, we could have one keep watch on the wee hours of morning before we move out again" pointed out Kate. Hutch shrugged. "I guess that could work. Everyone else good with that?" Everyone around the fire gave a nod. "Then what is the schedule looking like?"

"Me and Humphrey could go first" said Kade. "Then Kate and Hutch, and Cando could finish it off. How does that sound?" Just like with Hutch's question, everyone gave a nod to Kade. The older wolf smiled, and clapped his hands. "Then we're good. You three should get some shut eye, me and Humphrey will keep watch." The small fire was then extinguished, with Kate, Hutch, and Cando all rolling into their sleeping rolls. The horse dozed off as well, them being secured to a log on the outskirts of the small camp they set up. Humphrey and Kade sat down on opposite sides of the camp, plunged into silence as they listened to any sign of feral wolves in the vicinity. And within the 5 hours they kept watch, not a noise was heard. Humphrey and Kade then turned in, leaving the safety of the group up to Kate and Hutch. While Hutch kept a physical watch over things, Kate used her magic to sense the surroundings freely, being less cautious as she doubted there were any hostile magicians around. And just like the previous watch, no hostile made a presence.

Then Cando was awoken for his turn. As Kate and Hutch turned in for the last hours of night, Cando sat against a tree and kept his ears open for any noises. But in reality his mind was wandering, thinking mostly about Kate and her relations to Humphrey. He couldn't believe the group had so easily forgiven Humphrey for the massacre he performed back at the pack. He for one would not be so easy to sway. If Kate's theory on love was correct and was the answer to Humphrey's outburst, then shouldn't have himself been triggered as well? He was attracted to Kate just at much as Humphrey is, if not more so. And why did Kate like him so much? All these questions just made Cando angry. Humphrey had quickly made it onto his 'dislike' list, but now he had safely secured a high spot on his 'hatred' list.

 _Maybe I could just…kill him. I could stab the bastard, make it seem like a struggle, then come running into the clearing panting heavily and wake the group. I could say the ferals got him. No…they would see right passed that. What else would be an effective way of getting rid of him? I could possibly find some dangerous animals or plants and let them do the work on Humphrey for me. But Kate would be their to heal his ailment. Ugh! I just want the swine gone!_ Cando stared bullets at young sleeping male. _I'll get you Humphrey. Maybe not today, but soon you'll be a dead man. And I will have clear access to Kate's_ _hand._

 **Well, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. This was more of a filler, I'm trying to find a more solid direction to go with this story if that makes sense, because I'm sort of losing where I truly want this story to go. Either way, thanks for all the support, it means a ton! I'll see you all in the next update, peace!**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N hey guys, sorry for the late update. I've been busy with flights, work, injuries and all the other shit that's included in life. Either way I hope you all still enjoy. Make sure to check out my new story Metro (which I will update here shortly…I hope) and I will catch you all next time.**

"Back in the desert" said Humphrey sadly as the group drove their horses out of the tree line and back into the sand infested hills. Noon had just hit, making the heat from the sun feel a thousand times hotter. "That's impossible" complained Kate. "There is no way we have come all the way back to here" she added. The group used their perched position on top of their steeds to try and spot some kind of land mark, but nothing showed. Just sand.

"I'm to old for this" Kade said as he dismounted. The old wolf reached into the packs placed upon his horses rear end and pulled out a map. "How are we supposed to know where we are on the map if we have no clue as to where we are at all" commented Cando dryly as Kade laid the map across the ground, wording it as more of a direct statement then a question. The group ignored Cando's bitter attitude, and likewise got off their rides to examine the map. Cando huffed and rode off a couple of yards, continuing to look out over the landscape. Kade unsheathed his sword and placed it open a small circle on the map, located on the edge of the desert. "This is Kolokaton, and after our failed assault, we retreated here, into the tree line" said Kade, tracing the groups recent travels across the map with the edge of his sword. "Then, we must've headed back into the direction of the desert since we are more in the heart of it then ever before." Kade moved the sword even further into the forest.

"Here, the ferals attacked, and we headed the opposite way of the desert, as the ferals had their camp placed along the banks of the Node Lake, which is what the Node river runs into. So without knowing of it, we must have headed down the forest with the Node, so we should be somewhere around here" finished Kade, ending his presentation by stabbing his blade into the map, right in the heart of the desert, located just out of the forest. "So if we headed West, we would eventually hit the Node, and if we follow that we would be out of the desert in a few days and should be within sight distance of our army."

"Is the plan to head back to our army?" Everyone looked up at Cando as he steered his horse back to the group. "Well we can't really finish our mission at this point, can we" responded Humphrey. "We would have succeeded if the rest of you didn't fuck it up." The entire group was struck with surprise at Cando's harsh tone and accusation. "If we didn't fuck it up? What is that supposed to mean" responded Kate angrily. "Well come on, every single one of you fucked up. You," he said, pointing at Kate, "you are supposed to be our rebellions saving grace, our magician. Yet you throw our entire operation to the wind as one lowly, regular Empire magician holds you off, and probably would have killed you if Humphrey didn't shoot his arrow. And you not out of this either Humphrey. I mean, who leaves the entire group undefended to chase one person. You are the reason Kate got raped and abused." The whole group flinched at Cando's words, and Humphrey's whole body tensed in anger. "And Hutch, it's like all you have done is stand idle and watched the rest of us fight and do the dirty work. And Kade, an honorable, glorified general both on the field and in combat, yet you just let Claws die right in front of you. You are all cowardly, untrained, and undisciplined." At this point, Humphrey had drawn his own weapon and was walking towards Cando.

"Humphrey don't!" But Kate's plea was fruitless at Humphrey's sword went up and then slammed down, only to be met with the noise of steel on steel. Cando had been able to parry the attack with his own weapon, and then kicked Humphrey back, jumping off his horse afterwards. "Stop! Both of you! That's an order" screamed Kade, but his command seemed to be unheard as the two males clashed swords again. Hutch ran forward to brake it up, putting himself in front of the fray with his arms out stretched to keep the two combatants at bay. "This has gone to far, stop this!" Hutch was also unheard, in fact, Cando took Hutch as another who was against him. He swung his sword in an arc, aimed directly at Hutch's exposed neck. Humphrey lunged forward and placed his sword in between the blade of Cando's weapon and Hutch. The sword grazed off of Humphrey's, and arched down to where it sliced into Hutch's left arm. Hutch recoiled and released a wail of pain as he fell to the ground, his blood seeping into the sand. Humphrey slammed his shoulder into Cando and pushed him away from Hutch, allowing Kate to run towards him and use her magic to repair his flesh. Kade brought his already drawn sword into a combat position and charged Cando along with Humphrey, making Cando fight a two front battle. And Cando seemed to unleash a new pent up anger and skill, as he deflected, dodged and countered the two's attacks expertly.

Sparks flew as all three blades made contact, and the hilts of the blades locked. With the three being so close together, Cando took his opportunity to unleash two cheap shoots, one of them making contact. Kade retreated in pain, dropping his weapon as he clutched his groin. Cando disconnected from Humphrey's blade and spun around him. He then went to the air, aiming to slam his blade into Kade, who was now on the ground. Kade thankfully noticed, and rolled to the side. Cando's blade was met with sand. He went to pull his sword out of the ground, fearfully coming to the realization his weapon was stuck. Cando looked to the right and jumped backwards from his weapon, avoiding a stab attack from Humphrey. Cando scrambled and did a roll, grabbing Kade's sword along the way. Humphrey and Cando again went into one on one combat. The two seemed to be matched in their skill, so neither one able to gain the upper hand. Further back from the battle, Kate continued to mend to Hutch, while Kade threw up violently, as his male hood had been completely crushed by Cando's military grade steel boots.

Both fighting males shirts had turned darker with sweat as they continued on, fighting fiercely. The fight had turned into a game of endurance, to see which one would become to tired and get sloppy, allowing the other to claim victory. The sand didn't help with their combat, as the sand would suck in their steel boots and hinder their movements. With a few more well placed strikes from Cando, Humphrey's defenses started to break as he got more tired. Cando swung in an arc, forcing Humphrey to raise his sword to deflect his attack. But midway, Cando changed his blades direction with uncanny speed, and plunged his steel blade in Humphrey's right leg, causing the silver blade to exit Humphrey's thigh red with Blood. Humphrey wailed in pain. Cando then, while keeping the blade locked in Humphrey's leg, kicked him down, ripping flesh. Humphrey's wail suddenly went silent as he passed out with pain. Before Cando could do anymore damage, his face twisted and contorted in pain, before he fell to the side, dead. His heart had stopped dead in its tracks thanks to Kate's magic. She left the side of the now recovered Hutch and attempted to sprint to humphrey's body. But instead she collapsed in pain. She clutched her leg with a grimace. The entire limb was on fire, and it felt as if a sword had torn it to shreds. Then it hit her. She was feeling the pain of Humphrey. _The old scrolls spoke the truth!_ She thought to herself in bewilderment. _Does this mean that I do in fact hold feelings for him..?_ As Kate stared at what could very well be her chosen suitor by the forces of the arcane, she remembered her previous intentions. She stood, ignoring the pain, and continued to Humphrey. The upper part of his right leg was completely ripped and torn, and he was losing blood set all thoughts out of her mind and focused completely on stitching his leg back together before he bled to death. Hutch came forward as well, pulling the sword out of his leg so his flesh didn't grow around it.

"Kate his wound is pretty big…are you sure you have enough power for this?" Kate didn't answer. She placed her hands on his torn leg, her hands instantly becoming dark red with the amount of blood coming from Humphrey's wound. She started to recite her spells, calling upon every ounce of her magical capabilities. His leg slowly started to crawl back together, and the more it did, the more blurry Kate's vision started to grow. Kate started to lean side to side drowsily as her power started to fade. Hutch knew this would kill her, so he ran towards her, and placed his hand upon hers. "Share me as well." Kate silently nodded, her head bobbing up and down tiredly. Hutch started to feel his energy deplete. Just as some of Humphrey got repaired, Hutch started to get drowsy as well. Suddenly, Kade's hands joined in, and his energy joined the well of power Kate was draining from. Humphrey's skin and fur grew, crawling back together to meet each other. On the inside, the linings of his veins and arteries, even his tissue did the same. Just as Humphrey's leg returned to its original state, the three wolves collapsed, knocked out but not dead.

The sun drifted across the sky, and was nearing its point of vanishing when Humphrey awoke. His first reaction was to look at his leg. He was surprised to find it completely intact, not even a scratch. Humphrey then looked to his left, seeing the unconscious bodies of Kate, Hutch and Kade. He almost jumped up to check if they were still alive, but he could see their abdomens expanding and returning to its original position with each breath. Sighing with relieve he got to his feet, and noticed another body a few yards away. He walked towards it, seeing the lifeless face of Cando. Humphrey grimaced. He had no idea what had caused him to act out like that, to start attacking him and his friends. He still couldn't even fathom that he lay silent in front of him. It all just happened so fast, the entire situation was blurry and confusing to Humphrey. He paid what little respects he had for the rather rude wolf, then again stood. The horses had still remained by the passed out (and deceased) riders. Humphrey grabbed his canteen from his horses rear pack, dug a well in the sand, and poured what little water he dared to spare, letting each beast get a few swallows before the water was gone.

He then tied them to the tree line. Afterwards he attempted to wake his friends, but it was in vain. So he resulted in dragging the three towards the center of the camp he was making, and tried his best to place them in their sleeping rolls. He then spawned a fire with a few dead twigs, and the now useless fabrics of Cando's clothes. Along his search from more fuel to the fire, Humphrey found a folded piece of paper. He knew it was wrong to read what contents lay within, but his curiosity got the better of him. He unfolded the piece of paper and went upon reading it.

 _This damned swine! I feel as though I can no longer even be myself within his presence. The kid goes along, slaughtering an entire pack of innocent woman and children. Not to forget that it is also his fault that Kate has been spoiled; yet no one bats an eye. Then I seem to be frowned upon for still holding ill feelings towards him?! He needs to go, now…_

Nothing else was written along the paper, though it was obvious he had intentions of continuing it after Humphrey had been 'disposed' of. He closed the letter and tossed it in the fire, watching it burn. He then continued his search for more fuel.

 **A/N well, I hope you enjoy! Sorry it was a little short, but I still think it came out decent. Also, do you think I got rid of Cando to soon and or sudden? I'm thinking I did, at the same time I think it works, but it's really up to you guys, so make sure to let me know in the reviews. Either way, I'll see you in a few days with metro (hopefully) so peace!**


	11. Chapter 11

Hey guys! This isn't a new chapter, sorry to disappoint. I just wanted to say that with school starting back up I will be limiting to updating once a month instead once every two weeks, which is the update schedule I was trying to meet. That being said, the next chapter is already being written, and will be up without a doubt in the next week. I also wanted to mention that Metro will be on hiatus, just for the simple fact that I don't want to focus on two separate stories. After LBIH I will focus on Metro though I'm not sure when LBIH will be done, I plan to get it at least over 30 chapters.

Thanks for all the support you guys have given to me with this story, it means a ton! I will see you all within the next week with another chapter so stay tuned and have a great rest of your day!


	12. Chapter 12

A/N hey what's up guys! Sorry for the late update, I've pretty much committed to updating once a month instead of once every two weeks, mostly since school is going to be starting up soon. Also, even though I have two chapters ready and waiting for Metro, I've decided to put it on hiatus for the time being. The reason being I would rather put all my focus on one single story then dividing it up amongst multiple stories, so I apologize for any inconvenience that's caused. Without further ado… (p.s my spell check ain't working, so if there are mistakes I do apologize)

Humphrey arose from his slumber, groaning tiredly as he sat up from his sleeping roll. He rubbed his eyes before slowly opening them, adjusting to the early morning sun. After a couple seconds he could see normally. Standing, Humphrey stretched, dispelling the weariness from his muscles. He walked towards the steeds; still teetered to a tree. Grabbing a large quantity of the already dwindling food supplies, Humphrey headed back off to the fire, intending to make breakfast for his remaining companions. As he set down his limited ingredients, Humphrey realized the sleeping roll of Kate was empty. Instantly Humphrey drew his sword, jumping to his feet. He couldn't live with himself if he allowed a repeat of Kate's abduction. To his relief, he spotted her a few meters away, sitting a couple inches away from the deceased body of Cando, the wolf She had killed not even twenty-four hours prior.

"Kate?" Called Humphrey, walking towards her. "Kate" Humphrey repeated when he heard no answer. He started to worry, so he quickened his pace. kneeling besides her, he placed his hand upon her shoulder and shook it gently. "Kate, are you ok?" She turned to face him slowly, her eyes bloodshot. "Woah, Kate what happened? Have you slept at all?" Kate shook her head, placing a hand upon her temple from a headache as she did so. "Why not" questioned Humphrey in a worried tone.

"I've done something wrong Humphrey. Very, very wrong" Humphrey looked at her confused and slightly frightened. "How so?" Kate shuddered as she answered: "I can hear him Humphrey." "Hear who?" "Cando." Her answer made him recoil. He looked to Cando, checking for any sings of life. When he discovered none, he turned back to Kate, more worried then ever now. "Kate, Cando is dead." Kate slowly moved her head side to side. "Physically yes…but not mentally." Humphrey couldn't make heads or tails of the situation, and came to the conclusion that she was just having a traumatic reaction to the fact that she had killed someone she had called a friend. "Kate your just a little tired, come on let's get you to your bed while I fix breakfast."

Kate threw his hands off her, and stood. "I'm not insane Humphrey!" "I never said that…" Responded Humphrey, throwing his hands up in innocence. "But your thinking it!" She took a deep breath, then continued to speak, no longer yelling. "Humphrey, magic is a very, very dangerous craft. If you don't know what your doing, or how to control your concentration, very dangerous effects can occur." Humphrey nodded his head in understanding. "Well last night, when I cast the spell to stop Cando's heart to save you, I was not concentrating. In fact I was doing the opposite. I was in a mad rush to save your life. When I cast the spell, I accidentally added some elements that…shouldn't have been involved." She walked towards him. "Humphrey, I can hear Cando. I can hear him scream, cry, talk…he's still alive…in me."

"Wha-what?" "I don't know how" she said, almost as if that would reassure him. "I've been trying to send him back to his own body, his conscious anyway, as he doesn't have any physical control. But I don't know how. I can't sleep, I can't concentrate, all I hear is him screaming. And he knows he's within me, we've talked. He hates me. He hates you, and Hutch, and Kade. He thinks we betrayed him with helping you. And so he is now punishing me. It hurts so bad Humphrey" she whimpered the last part almost silently, placing her hand on her temple. Humphrey was stunned for a second.

"I'll go grab your books, they must have something on this" Humphrey turned and sprinted back to the tree, and tearing open the packs upon Kate's horse. When he found the various educational items, consisting of books and scrolls, he returned to Kate. He laid them down in front of her, then proceeded to help her sit. "I'm not physically impaired Humphrey" Kate said with a small smile as he assisted her. "But thank you either way." Humphrey nodded, then sat opposite her.

"Any idea on where to start?" Kate looked around, moving a few items out of the way. "Start with these" she answered, pushing a few books to the side. Humphrey nodded and hurriedly picked up a book. He flipped to the first page, and stared blankly at the confusing characters. In Humphrey's haste, he had forgotten that reading wasn't his strong suit. His family was never wealthy, and so could never afford to apply him for schooling. Instead he had been taught how to farm the land, and the occasional hunting skills. He looked back up from the ink neatly assembled on the page and met Kate's eye. "Kate I…I don't know how to read." Humphrey blushed heavily, extremely embarrassed at his inability. Kate was stunned, but she quickly hid her reaction, not wanting to offend or hurt Humphrey.

"Here, allow me" came Kade's voice, as he stood from his sleeping roll and sat next to Humphrey. "How long have you been up?" "Just long enough to hear your explanation to Humphrey. I'll help Kate skim through these books Humphrey, in the mean time go fix breakfast." Humphrey nodded, accepting that this was probably the most useful thing he could do, though he was still extremely embarrassed. As Humphrey walked to the fire and started to work on preparing a meal, Kate and Kade searched through the various arcane texts, focusing more so on the ones that had to do with the brain and or mind, as this was Kate's and Cando's issue.

" _Come on Kate, let me stay. I could tell you've always wanted me inside of you._ " Kate growled inwardly. " _Be quiet you nasty pig_." " _Touché_ " responded Cando, taking on a more innocent tone of voice. Again Kate growled, and increased her effort tenfold with focusing on her books. "What about this?" Said Kade, taking Kate's mind off of Cando. He pushed an open book towards her, his finger indicating a line of text. She picked up the book and read down the page. It described the brain and the soul, and how more then one person can 'exist' within a single entity. She continued to read, turning the page in desperate hopes of finding an answer. Finally, she came across some valuable information.

'With the ability to transfer ones thoughts and mental life into another comes the ability to also transfer it out. However, the latter is much more difficult and requires a more patient approach to the arcane.' "Ha! It seems I won't be going anywhere anytime soon." Kate ignored the arrogant bastard inside of her and continued to read on. 'But with the arcane powers it is known that being specific is a major factor. If you wish to transfer one entity out of another, and into nothing (essentially killing it) it requires expert levels. However, moving it from one living creature to another is not as difficult.' Kate's hopes were rekindled at the sight of that paragraph. " _Nothing to say_?" Asked Kate with a smirk across her face.

Kade noticed the smirk.. "Did you find a solution?" Kate met the hopeful gaze of Kade. "Well…I could transfer Cando from me to another. The spell required to do such a thing isn't all to difficult. The issue is, that while I will be able to transfer Cando, we would still be…connected, so to say." Kade looked confused, prompting Kate to explain further. "Well, if I were to transfer Cando to another living creature, like his horse, he would be ignorable, but I would have to keep him within a certain distance of me. I am the one keeping him alive, so if he gets to far away from me, my energy would strain to much to keep him alive at such a distance, resulting in my death." "What if you transfer him into the horse, then we kill it?" Kate shook her head. "I saved him from death. If I were to kill something I transferred him into, my energy would still try to keep him alive, resulting in the death of all three of us."

"You learned all that from one paragraph of text?" "That and the knowledge I already own." "Would you be able to-" "breakfast is served" interrupted Humphrey, handing each some dried meat in which Humphrey attempted to cook and season in between two slices (very small slices mind you) of bread. "Thank you Humphrey" the two said in unison. Humphrey did a small bow, causing Kate to laugh. Humphrey smiled to himself inwardly, happy he was able to lighten up Kate's mood even further.

Humphrey sat down next to them, the three making the vertices in a triangle shape when Humphrey sat. "So have you made progress towards your…predicament?" "Well" said Kate "we have figured out a way to send Cando to another living sentiment, but it wouldn't completely fix my issue." "How so?" Asked Humphrey, taking a bite into his breakfast. Kate went on to explain to Humphrey what she had just explained to Kade. "So how far could he get away from you before death?" Kate shrugged. "I've never done something like this. It could be a couple meters, it could be a couple miles. There's really only one way to find out."

"would the horse still have control of itself physically" questioned Kade. Kate nodded. "It should. Cando would only be another entity in the sense of the horse's mental capabilities." Humphrey looked confused. "But doesn't the brain, or 'mental capabilities' control the physical?" Kate shrugged. "I honestly don't know, I've never dealt with something such as this, like I said before. But Cando doesn't seem to have any access to my physical body so I don't think he would within his own horse." "Well, let's try then." Kate finished her food, getting as much energy as she possibly could, before she stood and walked towards Cando's steed.

She didn't know how much energy she would use just transferring him, but she hoped she had enough. The spells activation was easy enough, so she silently muttered a couple arcane words, and outstretched her hand towards the beast. When she finished casting the spell, she felt a huge surge of energy leave her. She dropped to one knee, but otherwise seemed to be ok. Humphrey helped her stand, looking her over worryingly to try and find any physical problems she might have endured. To his relief he found none. "I'm ok Humphrey" she said, waving off his hand as she stood to full height. "Did it work?" Asked Kade, walking towards the horse, which seemed relatively unchanged. "Cando?" To Kate's relief she didn't receive an answer. She then placed her hand gently onto the neck of the horse, stroking it gently. While her hand was on it, she reached into the horses mind, not such a difficult task like with the Mage at Kolokaton as the horse didn't posses any magical knowledge or the ability to use it. Again, she called Cando's name.

" _Get me out of here you wench_!" Kate flinched slightly at the sudden ferocity. " _Sorry Cando, truly I am_ " she said mockingly. " _It's your fault I'm here, your fault I'm not at peace! You are the true evil, not me_!" " _No Cando, you are. You are the one who attacked us, who almost killed two of our companions, and_ _you're the one who wrought this upon yourself_." Kate then cut her communication to the horses mind, effectively blocking out Cando. She turned to Humphrey and Kade. "He's in their. Not particularly happy about it though." The two nodded. "Well, now that we have that issue solved, what about the distance you can put between you and Cando" asked Kade. Kate shrugged. "I don't know, and allow me to speak frankly, I don't all to much care at the moment. I'd rather focus on catching up on my sleep." "Well then" stated Humphrey "we should pack up, wake up Hutch and get a move on. You can sleep on your horse, we just have to extended the saddle backwards." Kate nodded. She would have rather slept on solid ground, but this was ultimately the better option, as it would allow them to continue moving back towards their army group, and Kate's family.

They woke up Hutch, allowing him to eat as they explained what had happened earlier with Kate and Cando, and how now Cando's horse was the new 'and improved' Cando, which caused the group to share a good laugh. They tied Cando's horse to the back of Kate's, making sure it would come with the group so Kate wouldn't possibly die from the energy she used to keep Cando alive. Then they set off, following the Node river that they used to get here just a few days prior. The three males and sleeping female rode deep into the day, stopping multiple times to allow the horses to drink and to refill their canteens. Kate had only slept for a few hours, waking on the first stop. She had been awake ever since, and with late afternoon fast approaching, Humphrey had slowed down his horse to get even with Kate.

Though Kate's eyes were still bloodshot from lack of sleep she still managed to give Humphrey a bright, lively smile as he approached. "How are you feeling?" "I'm doing fine" Kate said with a nod. "How about you?" Humphrey wiped his forehead with the back of his head. "I would be doing dandy, but this blasted heat is overwhelming." Kate laughed, agreeing with him on that. "So Kate, I wanted to ask you a question if you don't mind." "Not at all she answered, sitting straighter in her saddle. "I was wondering if you could…teach me to read?" He said with a weak smile, blood rushing to his cheeks as he said it. Kate smiled. "Of course, but you have to continue to teach me hand to hand combat, we only sparred a couple times since we've been out here." "Deal" said Humphrey, excited to learn how to finally read, and to avoid another embarrassing situation like the one he endured earlier in the day. Kate reached back to her saddle bags, fumbling a bit with the ties as the horses moving made it slightly more difficult. When she opened it up, she pulled out one book. She tied back up her saddle bag and returned to her original spot. She called for Humphrey to get close, so he brought BlindSide right up against Kate's horse, which towered over Humphrey's dwarf of a steed. Still, Humphrey was able to have a good view of the book which rested upon Kate's lap. She opened the cover, turning to the first page. Again, Humphrey stared at the ink characters on the page, all of them in confusing shapes and sizes, and some even having their own little markings. "Do you have any clue what anything says here?" Humphrey shook his head. It was all just a jumble of weird designs to him. "Alright then, we'll start right from the beginning."

Kate spent the next hour and a half of riding going over with Humphrey each letter of the alphabet. ((for the sake of simplicity in this story, their writing language is the same as ours, so theres 26 characters, and all the punctuation you would see in a modern text)) Humphrey also learned to read the first few words at the top of the page, even though it was mostly from memory after he got it the first time, as he was instructed to read over it multiple times. "See, it isn't to difficult once you learn the basics" Humphrey agreed with her, happy with himself at how far he got in such a little amount of time. "I'll be an expert before we reach the army" said Humphrey jokingly, causing Kate to giggle.

Kate closed her book and put it back into its original place, grabbing her canteen as well and taking a swig, before she sat back up right in the saddle. "So, how far do you think we are?" asked Humphrey. "Well, figuring we haven't passed the town with all the…deaths, I'd say we rest up tonight and we reach the army by tomorrow" stated Kate. "Are you excited to be back?" Kate thought about that last question a little bit more. Sure she was excited to see her family again, ecstatic even. But once they got back, it would also be back to the large, death filled battles, ransacking cities, killing the civilians that didn't cooperate in each city, and ultimately a very none pleasant time. "Yes and no" she answered. She didn't have to say why, Humphrey knew. Before their conversation could continue, a whistle broke the air. The two looked ahead to Kade, who waved his hand in a circular motion. They all understood the command, and steered their horses towards the river. They dismounted, letting the horses rest and drink.

"So, should we camp here?" Asked Kade as he scooped some water into his canteen. "We still have a few more hours of sun light, might as well milk out as many miles as possible, no" said Hutch. "I would agree but the horses are feeling it now. I think it would be best to rest up. And I don't want to risk the chance of one of these beasts dying, especially Mr. Cando over their." The group laughed, and walked over to Cando. Kate placed her hand upon the horse, and reached into its mind. _"Kade's a funny guy ain't he_ " said Cando in obvious rage. " _You sounded sarcastic_." Cando growled. " _I hope the old wolf croaks in the heat_." Kate ended the conversation after that, not wanting to Listen to his whining. "He say anything?" Asked Kade. Kate laughed and said: "just wishing for your well being." "That's a lie if I've ever heard one" butted in Hutch, again causing the group to erupt in laughter.

"Alright settle down" responded Kade to the uproar of laughter. "Let's get camp set up and dinner cooking, then we can spend all night laughing our asses off." The four spread out to do a task, Humphrey collecting fuel for a fire, Kate digging a well in the sand to put the fire within, and Hutch and Kade working on getting food ready to be cooked. When the fire was set up and the food being prepared with the moon now taking the Suns place in the sky, Kate drew her sword. The three males looked over her, confused. "Let us spar Humphrey." Humphrey stood, his hands in front of him like he was defending himself. "Not with actual swords, Kate, are you crazy?" "Watch" she responded. She started to silently mutter words of the arcane, while slowly moving her open hand across the blade. When she reached the tip, she stopped her spell, then thrusted her sword into the sand. Instead of stabbing right through the grainy material, it just made a little well, like a branch would have.

"It makes the blade dull" she explained. It will allow us to practice without the fear of cutting ourselves. It will still break bones though, so don't go crazy" said Kate, her hand outstretched to take Humphrey's sword. Humphrey handed it to her, and she repeated her previous action. Once done, she handed it back to him. Humphrey drew a circle in the sand, and both competitors stood at either end. On the side, Kade and Hutch spectated the event. Humphrey started off aggressive, lunging forwards and swinging his sword over his head. His attack was meant to be sloppy, so he could see if Kate remembered what they had went over a few days prior. Kate dodged to the left, then quickly went for his exposed back. Humphrey spun lightning quick however and was able to parry Kate's thrust, staggering her. Humphrey then swung, stopping the tip just an inch from her neck. "Dead" he said with a smile.

Kate stepped back, frustrated with herself for losing so easily. "You won't get me that easily next time" said Kate with determination. They spaced back to the edge of the circle, and went at it again. This time Kate played the aggressor, moving forward while keeping her sword low. When Humphrey was in range she flung her sword up, trying to get the blade tip to Humphrey's chin. He brushed her sword to the side with ease and countered, stabbing straight into her stomach. Kate back-stepped quick enough though, and Humphrey's attempt came up fruitless. Humphrey however continued his attack with a gap closer, lunging forward again and swinging at a diagonal. Kate parryed Humphrey, which was not something he expected, and it left him open. Kate thrusted quickly, trying to get purchase. Humphrey, even though he was clad in armor, rolled backwards, resulting in Kate's attack coming up empty. She growled and ran forward, trying to get him when he came up from his roll. Humphrey expected this however, and brought his sword above his head defensively, blocking Kate's attack.

He then used the hilt of his blade and pushed Kate backwards, again giving both combatants space. Kate sweated profusely, taking deep breathes. Mean while Humphrey, who was used to such physical abuse, was calm and collective, with only the tiniest sliver of sweat along his head. Humphrey ran towards Kate and let of a combo, swinging his sword left, right, thrusting, and finishing off with a spin attack. Kate blocked the first three, but the fourth attack had to much strength behind it, and Kate's defenses fell. Humphrey swung one last time, going for the win, when suddenly Kate jumped forward, pressing her body into his. Humphrey's attack went right passed Kate as she was now right up against him, and it caused him to stumble backwards, and ultimately fall. Kate went with him, and ended up on top of him. With her face just inches from his, she smiled and said quietly "dead." Her sword was pressed right up against Humphrey's stomach. Humphrey however, didn't answer. He just stared into Kate's golden/Amber eyes. Kate's smile widened as she to got caught in the trance, staring intently at him as well.

Humphrey's right hand dropped the hilt of his weapon, and gently brought it up to Kate's cheek. She blushed, but didn't waver, still maintaining their trance like stare. Humphrey slowly brought himself towards her. He felt her warm breath against his face as he closed the gap between them, locking their lips in a kiss. The phrase 'sparks flew' would be an understatement. Kate dropped her sword as well, placing her hands on his chest as they both closed their eyes to savor the moment. Humphrey couldn't believe what was happening. He had kissed Kate only once before when he tried to wake her up, but that didn't count. This, this is the kiss that mattered. He felt his heart skip a beat as he finally allowed him self to relax, kissing Kate with all his heart as she snuggled up to him. They both melted into each other, their emotions racing at the speed of light. Their lips caressed each other, and the love that they both held deep within themselves finally had a bridge to move across, moving between the two as they finally got to truly express their feelings for one another. Their kiss lasted only a couple second, but when they slowly broke away with their lips, they stayed snuggled up against one another. Kate giggled and buried her face into the scruff of Humphrey's neck, causing Humphrey to smile and wrap his arms around her in a loving embrace.

A few meters away, Hutch and Kade stared in utter shock. One minute they were locked in combat, the next they were locked in a kiss. The two males looked at each other, then back to the newly formed couple. Kade hated to ruin the moment, but he loudly cleared his throat. The two broke apart quickly and stood, staring at Kade and Hutch with embarrassment. Kade was left without words after he cleared his throat, a cloak of awkwardness settling over the four companions. Hutch thankfully broke it however. "Well it's about damn time you made a move Humphrey." The four laughed, Kate and Humphrey looking at each other as they did so with smiles. "I gotta be honest, I was waiting for it to happen to. I just didn't think it would be in the middle of a sparring match" said Kade with a laugh. Humphrey and Kate sat down next to the fire with Kade and Hutch after sheathing their swords. They stayed very close though, and Kate leaned against Humphrey's shoulder. The other two males didn't pay it much mind though, and Kade handed out dinner. After a very small dinner, the four laid out their sleeping bags. "With all the 'passion' I saw, I'm surprised you two aren't in the same bag" said Hutch, causing him and Kade to laugh while Humphrey and Kate's jaws both gaped open at what he was implying in his joke.

When the four recovered, they all tethered up their horses, then went to bed, not before Humphrey and Kate shared one last, love filled kiss.

 **A/N well, theirs chapter…err….whatever chapter number this is lol. I'd also like to congratulate myself on this chapter, as I broke my record. This is officially the longest chapter I've written. Even though the first chapter of this story is longer, it was originally two separate chapters that I combined, so this is my single most longest chapter, clocking in at 4,456 words. Also, I know you have all been waiting for it, so we finally have Kate and Humphrey 'come out of their shells' so to speak. Don't worry, I'll go into**

 **More detail about each of their feelings in the next chapter. I hope you all enjoyed, and I'll see you all next time!**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N what's up guys, back with installment 13! I know many of you are now back in school like I am, so hope it's going good for all of you out there! See ya next month, and as always thanks for the continued support, it means a ton! Also, I've used a lot of 'different' words in this story, so I'll put the definition of each word in the A/N at the bottom of the page incase your interested in learning some new vocabulary(:**

Morning came to quickly for Kate, as she woke up at the first glimpses of light from the sun that was just coming over the horizon. An involuntary groan was released as she sat, looking around the still mostly dark landscape. The cool morning breeze sniping through her fur woke her a little, but she was still very tired from the lack of sleep she's had the past two days. Kate stood from her sleeping roll and proceeded to pack it back up on her horse. She then searched for the ingredients necessary to make a simple, small breakfast for the rest of the group. However her search came fruitless. She stared into the packs where their food would have been, all that was remaining being crumbs from stale bread. Almost as if on purpose her stomach growled. Kate sighed. They wouldn't be eating until they reached the army. She looked over at the three sleeping males. She didn't want to, because it was so early, but she wanted to get a move on and wake them.

She was very anxious to finally see her family again. Even though it had only been a short time, a lot has happened, and she was very tired from the journey they had taken. She also missed the soft cots as opposed to the sleeping rolls they were provided, and the thought of regular, freshly prepared food by actual chefs caused her mouth to water. She made sure everything she needed was in her packs, then proceeded to wake her companions. Humphrey being the closest, he walked up to him. As she kneeled down to wake him, a devious thought crossed her mind. With the prior nights events, she felt it was only right to wake him up in a way deemed correct by the stature of a relationship, so she worked up her courage, and slowly bent down towards him. She planted her lips softly upon his, waking him up almost instantly. He seemed startled at first, but it lasted only a second before he accepted the kiss, repaying the action to her and again placing his hand upon her cheek as he did so. This kiss lasted much longer then the one they shared last night, which was just fine with them. Kate positioned herself into a more comfortable position, practically sitting on top of him, and deepened the kiss, brushing her tongue against his teeth to gain access to his mouth. Humphrey allowed with zero hesitation, and just like that Kate and Humphrey went into the most intimate kiss either of them had ever had.

Disappointingly for Humphrey Kate pulled away before things could get interesting. He didn't blame her though, he didn't want to move to fast with their newly formed, spontaneous relationship. Plus, they were out in the open, right next to two other wolves. Kate brought her muzzle to the side of his face, whispering in his ear. "Time to wake up." Humphrey nodded and stretched with her still on top of him. After he released the stiffness and weariness from his muscles, he looked around. "What time is it?" He asked her, seeing only a little amount of light from the young morning sun. Kate shrugged, but proceeded to inform him of their food shortage, justifying her reasons of wanting to get a move on. Humphrey understood and proceeded to stand and pack his things as Kate woke the other two. They also seemed disappointed with how early they were woken, but understood Kate's urgency for food and to see her family again.

The four wolves saddled their horses, tied Cando to Humphrey's horse so he wouldn't be left behind and potentially kill Kate from the distance she had to span her energy to keep him alive, and set off. The ride was quiet, as all of them were still to tired to have any engaging conversations. Kate didn't mind it though. It gave her time to think, as well as look out at the truly beautiful desert. The way the sand reflected the early morning light just caught her attention, and she found herself gazing at it for the better part of an hour. Eventually, to her surprise, the desert soon receded. She was able to see more vegetation, and the air got noticeably cooler as noon approached. Kate almost jumped in her saddle. She was almost to back with her family.

Humphrey shifted on his saddle as well. He was unsure if Kate was to mention their relationship to her parents. If she was planing on it, Humphrey had no intention of being close to Eve when she revealed it. Eve was very over protective of her daughters, and he could see her even pulling a sword on himself if he was close by. But for the moment he kept quiet about it, he didn't feel like mentioning it just yet. Soon they passed the town that Humphrey, Kate, Hutch and Cando had came across on their way to General Kade's now destroyed army. The three did not mention it to Kade though, mostly because the horrendous crimes committed at the town by Tony's empire still haunted them. They rode on through the town, and eventually were only a few minutes from where their journey had started off. It was at this time Humphrey pulled Blindside to the right, getting closer to Kate.

She smiled at him as he got closer. "We're almost there" she said with glee, a large smile painted across her face. Humphrey smiled back, though he himself wasn't all to excited, he was happy that Kate was happy. "Yep, back to the army. So Kate, if I could ask you a question?" He said, looking up at her, as blindside was considerably shorter compared to Kate's steed. "Of course" she said, still keeping her smile. Humphrey realized how much she had been smiling since just last night, and that little thought made him happy. He hoped the smile was more so because of him, but he knew her family probably had the most to deal with her sudden jolly mood.

"Well, I was wondering if you planned on sharing our…relationship with your parents." The question caught Kate off guard. "I did wish to mention it to them yes. I think they would be happy know I'm with someone who cares for me as much as you do, wouldn't you say?" Humphrey thanked her for her kind words, but she didn't fully understand what he meant. "Thank you for that Kate, but your mother… She scares me quite a bit. Ive seen her work on the battle field, it's not something I want to be met with." Kate laughed. "Humphrey, she's over protective yes, but I'm sure she won't do something that drastic. Are you truly that terrified"?

"I know if I was Humphrey I would be shaking in fear" commented Hutch from behind the two. "Really?" Said Kate in bewilderment. "I honestly don't think she's that bad." "Because you've only seen her loving side. Humphrey would have to be impavid to even stand in the same tent as Eve when you shared the news." Kate scoffed. "Whatever, we can just tell my father and have him break the news to her, so we can be on the complete other side of camp when she finds out."

"All this talk about telling your parents about your 'relationship' is making me think two things" said Kade suddenly, as he brought his horse closer to the three. "One, I'm glad you two both just telepathically decided you two were an item" said Kade, mocking their ability to turn a kiss into a serious thing over night. "And I also think your acting like children, your turning this into a foofaraw. Just spill the beans, and if your honestly this terrified, just wear your armor and a shield." Humphrey shrugged. "That wouldn't be to formal though." Kade and Hutch laughed. "Why does it have to be formal?" Asked Hutch. "Your just telling her parents you guys share feelings of limerence towards each other, it's not like your asking her hand in marriage." Both Kate and Humphrey agreed with that. "I guess I am being a little over dramatic. I'm just worried about a sword being thrusted through my stomach is all." "I'll stand in front of you Humphrey" said Kate sweetly, out of nowhere. "Thank you Kate" said Humphrey with a smile, ignoring Kade and Hutches snickering. Before the conversation could be continued anymore, the five horses and four companions arrived over a hill, in front of them being an ocean of grey tents, all orderly and neatly pressed into rows and columns. Kate cheered, and drove her horse into a small gallop, aiming to go around the sea of tents and get to the camp entrance.

The three males laughed and followed suit, heading off with Kate. However the happy feeling of returning home quickly vanished, and all four slowed their horses to just a trot. They didn't even need to sniff. The smell of fresh blood just found its way to their nostrils. Kate looked back at her companions with worry. "I don't hear any fighting…actually, I don't hear anything at all." The horses came to a stop, and the four just listened. Not a single noise was heard. It was all just silent. "Should we investigate?" Asked Hutch. "I think we must" answered Kade. "Dismount and move quietly. If we encounter the empire, or any other danger, sprint back to the horses." The three nodded in regards to Kade's plan, then set off to the entrance of the camp, moving as quietly as possible while clad in armor.

Worry burrowed itself into Kate's mind, and she couldn't shake it. She got frustrated in the slow, stealthy crouch they were moving in. If her parents or sister were in trouble, she wanted to be by their side as quickly as possible. She refrained from running up ahead however, though she did pass Humphrey and Hutch, planting herself behind Kade so she was closer to the camp entrance. Finally after what felt like years, they made it. It was just a very large make-shift door frame out of wooden planks, with hinges on either corner so it could be folded and transported to a different location with ease. Coming off on either side from the door frame, though not connected to it, were make-shift fences that encircled the large military camp.

"Stick together" said Kade as they entered the camp. The tents were arranged very neatly into rows and columns. This was much easier to manage instead of a clustered mess of randomly placed tents. This effectively made roads within the camp. Looking down the first road to her left her eyes caught the reflection of the sun. She mentioned it to Kade and they moved towards the glare. The entire time it was dead silent, the only noise being the clanking of armor. It really messed with the four, and they all felt a sense of fear. Even Kate became less anxious of getting to her parents and instead more paranoid on the thoughts that an ambush could be waiting for them deeper within the camp. Thankfully this road wasn't where that ambush (if their was any at all) was, and they arrived to the source of the glare unscathed.

The culprit causing the suns reflection was a sword, the tip of the blade coated in blood that was dripping into an ever growing pool that extended to the base of the hilt and mixed with the dirt. It was obviously fresh. The sword's hilt pointed to a grey, unscathed tent. Kate walked towards it, readying her sword in advance. She curled her fingers around the flap, looking behind her to make sure her companions knew of her intentions. When all three nodded, she flung the flap back. Sitting upon a chair in the small space was a dead wolf, dressed in the armor of the rebellion. He had a stab wound on his chest, and blood was seeping down from his scalp. Kade moved into the tent cautiously, Humphrey and Hutch following suit. When Kade deemed the tent clear of any danger, they checked over the wolf on the chair. Curled in the lifeless fingers of the deceased soldier was a piece of paper. Hutch removed it, and unfolded it. Hutch read the note aloud.

 _Dearest Kate._

 _Your nefarious attacks on Kolokatan were not unnoticed. You and your men will be met with a most draconian punishment. But alas, how can we punish you if you refuse to be found? Your army has been decimated, just like the one at Kolokatan. However I have kept your family alive. All you must do to save them, is turn yourself in, and I will see to it they are set free. If you do not arrive within our empires mighty capital, Lupus, within the following week and a half, your family will be no more._

 _Yours truly, Emperor Tony._

The three males looked over to Kate. All three proceeded to jump at the unexpected growl of rage that emitted from her throat. "He's taken my family! That wicked swine, I'll make sure I personally saw off each of his limbs with the very sword he used to crown himself such a blasphemous title as 'emperor!'" The three males were unsurprised however at Kate's vehement attitude towards the note and its contents. Kate proceeded to storm out the tent, no longer caring for maintaining a discrete presence. She yelled and growled and kicked and stomped. She even grabbed a pole that was used to support a tent and chucked it, causing the tent to fall and knock over a few others along its path.

"You fancy her. So you calm her down, me and Hutch will look around for any survivors, and restock on supplies since it's obvious we cannot stay here." Kade and Hutch then walked off, heading to the center of the camp where the 'mess hall' was located. Humphrey watched them go, then looked back over at Kate, who was still in a blinding rage. She scarred him to the point where he considered just letting her cool off, but she was getting to violent. She would hurt herself at this pace. Humphrey walked over to her, softly calling her name.

"Not now Humphrey" she shouted, continuing to throw and strike things. Humphrey spoke up a little more loudly, and got closer to Kate then he wanted to. She accidentally back handed him, sending him to his pockets in shock and pain as he held his jaw. Kate looked back in confusion, as she was not expecting to hit anything when she flew her arm back. She saw Humphrey a couple feet away, starring at her in shock. Her faced showed a mix of emotions. Humphrey could make out her confusion, her anger, and an apologetic look all within the same face. He stood, and walked towards her. "I'm sorry" she said in a forced manner, like she felt he deserved it. "Your fine, I got a little to close, my bad." Kate shook her head.

"How does he know me?" Humphrey looked confused at first, but then he remembered the note. "Well your parents held a very high position of power in our nation before Tony took us over. I'm sure he knew of you, just as we know of his son Garth." Kate nodded, understanding. "He's a wretch" she said with distaste. Humphrey placed a hand on her shoulder. "Well get them back." Kate looked up at him. He wore a reassuring smile, and if she was being honest, it did help her just a little. "That's only if Tony lives up to his word." "What?" Asked Humphrey in bewilderment. "Your actually going to turn yourself in!" Kate nodded. "Well of course, I refuse to let them die." Humphrey shook his head. "Absolutely not. I refuse to let you do that." Humphrey stood tall, like he was giving an order. "Your not my boss Humphrey" replied Kate.

Humphrey was about to respond, but he saw out of the corner of his eye someone running towards him. He looked over, and saw three wolves fully clad in imperial armor, shields and swords. They were in a dead on sprint towards them, weapons raised high. Humphrey had enough time to warn Kate and pull out his own blade. Kate turned and did so as well. Humphrey spread his feet, getting into a defensive stance. He excepted Kate to do the same.

Instead, she lunged forward. She surprised not only Humphrey, but the three soldiers as well. She cut the first down before any of them could react. Kate then held her sword over her head, blocking two over head attacks from the last two soldiers. Humphrey ran towards the three, kicking one in the stomach and getting him to back off from Kate so she didn't have to fight multiple enemies. The four duelists spread out involuntarily, Humphrey and another soldier near the tent where they found the note, while Kate and the other were closer to the camp entrance.

Humphrey circled the other male. He looked to be a little on the older side, around Kade and Winston's age. Still, that didn't deceive him. The elderly wolf held his sword with care. He was clearly well trained and experienced. The imperial lunged first, thrusting at Humphrey's abdomen. He deflected it easily and countered with an attack of his own, but the elder wolf showed off his speed and got out of the way with time to spare. Humphrey got the feeling that the wolf was testing him.

Again they circled each other, and again Humphrey was put on the defensive first. This time however the soldier threw multiple attacks, all in a very intricate order that almost caught Humphrey off guard. He just escaped the combo unscathed. He back stepped to get a little breathing room and asses the situation. This was no normal soldier. The regular grunt of the empire were not this well disciplined, or knew how to handle themselves in a fight the way this wolf was. Humphrey decided he would see all this wolf had to offer, and launched his own attack.

First, he thrusted. As expected, the elderly wolf blocked it, slapping it away with his sword. Humphrey then used the momentum and spun, bringing his sword above his head and swinging it down. His blade only met air however, as the wolf dodged to the right. Humphrey planned to continue his attacks, but the wolf saw his opening and went in to exploit it. Humphrey dodged, resulting in him being off balance. Knowing he didn't have enough time to dodge again or block if needed, he threw his left hand, making contact on the wolf's helmet with his fist. It hurt, but it also dazed the wolf. Humphrey used this to back up and reassess himself. He looked behind him and saw Kate. She seemed to be holding her own, so Humphrey went back to focusing on his enemy.

Before the two could engage in battle, a blade erupted from the imperial's chest. Hutch was the culprit. He kicked the elder soldier of his sword. "Let's help Kate" he said quickly, running past him. Humphrey nodded and followed Hutch. He didn't have the element of surprise this time though, as he could see Hutch running towards him because of the way he was facing Kate. The other soldier, looking much younger, still seemed to posses the same skill as his older counterpart. He blocked Hutch's attack, and actually shoulder rammed him. Kate stepped in and however, and the younger wolf had to focus on her. Humphrey used this to copy Hutch's attack, and thrusted his sword through the soldiers chest.

"Where did they come from?" Asked Kate as she sheathed her weapon. "I don't know" answered Humphrey "but they aren't the typical run of the mill." Hutch got to his feet. "Where's Kade?" Hutch quickly explained. "We got ambushed, at least a dozen. We both ran separate ways into the camp. I heard you two, so when I found you I helped out. I don't know where Kade is though." "We got to find him and get out of here" said Kate quickly. "Yeah, we will" said Humphrey referring to him and Hutch. "You grab the horses, well met you at the camp entrance. Kate was about to protest, but decided it can wait. Besides, she couldn't live with herself if she was the cause for Kade's death. So she instead nodded and sprinted away, towards the horses. Humphrey and Hutch both ran the opposite way, keeping their swords at the ready incase they found the remaining imperial's.

Humphrey and Hutch remained quiet, as the entire camp was again plunged into silence. Every time they took a turn was a risk, as they could walk face to face with 12 imperial's, who more then likely are trained just as well as the others before them. All of the sudden, a grunt of struggle was heard, and Kade came flying out of one of the tents, another wolf on top of him. The two males drew their weapon and quickly dispatched of the enemy, who had no idea they were their till he was already dead. They helped Kade to his feet, just in time for five more wolves to find them. The three went to run backwards, when another six came from there.

The three went back to back, all three with their swords out. "Any ideas?" Kade and Humphrey didn't answer Hutch. The three stared down the eleven, swords raised high, though all of them had their minds racing on how they were going to escape. Eventually, the eleven spread into a circle, completely encasing the three rebellion soldiers. "It's gonna be a slaughterhouse. We won't be able to all hold off eleven blades all at once." "Let's hope Kate realizes were taking to long and uses some magic." It was a small hope.

The eleven charged, closing the circle. Humphrey waited, then sprung towards one of the soldiers, tackling him. Thankfully his breastplate deflected the swords that went after his sides. Humphrey rolled off, ending up outside of the circle of death. Humphrey couldn't see Hutch and Kade, but he hoped for the best. Four soldiers broke off and attacked Humphrey. It wasn't eleven soldiers, but it was still an almost impossible feat. Humphrey deflected the first few attacks, but he quickly got tired. He fell to the ground after tripping upon his own feet, dropping his sword. His next sensation was one of pain. A blade was thrusted into his lower abdomen, on his right side. He wailed in pain, trying to squirm away and lift the sword from his flesh. Another soldier kicked Humphrey down, standing above his chest.

The tents around them erupted into flame, causing the soldiers to recoil in confusion. The whinny of a horse caught their attention. At the end of the road was Kate, her hand in the air and her eyes closed. Her mouth moved at the speed of light, and instantly the four soldiers hovering over Humphrey fell, dead. The soldiers by Kade and Hutch turned to face Kate. One of the men in their ranks tossed away their helmet, and started to mutter his own words. Kate wasn't expecting it, and was thrown on the defensive to stop her mind from being invaded. This would now be her second attempt against another magician. And it didn't help as a handful of soldiers were already running towards Kate as she battled.

Behind Kate, four males in armor appeared at the sides of her horse. Upon their chest plate was the dirty, grimy insignia of the rebellion. They formed a defense around Kate, who still didn't fully comprehend this as she was so dead focused on her own fight. The imperial's clashed with the four rebellion soldiers, who were all covered in dirt and blood, almost like they had just recently gotten out of a fight. By the imperial magician, three soldiers were still in a fight, with Hutch fighting the three by himself. He dipped and dodge, rolling past their attacks and ultimately getting behind the magician.

Kate's defenses again fell. Her mouth gaped in a silent scream as again she was fully exposed to the other magician. And again, she was saved, as Hutch thrusted his sword into the magicians back, saving Kate's life. Within a second the favor was returned, a spear erupting through Hutch's stomach. Kate recovered quickly, and casted one last spell, causing the remaining imperial's to fall.

 **A/N, yep, a horribly written, rushed cliffhanger, aren't I the greatest? Seriously though, I'm sorry it seems rushed. I had most of this done on Thursday, but that was also the day my power went out from 3 to 10 am the following day, making me lost around 3000 words of progress, and I had to get this out before October to keep my update schedule alive. So next chapter will be next month, and I assure you it will be better. Also, here are the 'special' words I used in today's chapter**

Impavid: fearless or extremely brave

Limerence: an emotional feeling of love towards another, usually accompanied by a yearning for the feelings to be shared back.

Nefarious: wicked, sneaky, or underhanded actions

Draconian: a sever or over the top punishment

Vehement: feelings of anger, agitation, hatred etc


End file.
